We have never met, but
I first heard about you, when I was young.
Good, bad
I’m not sure.
...
The blackbird's footprints seemed to trace
The footpath to the resting place
Through the bright new layer of snow
They led the way, showed where to go.
...
I walk alone along the street
Faces blur, I just see feet
As I push my way out through the crowd
I'm not here, I'm falling down
...
Bitter darkness, seeping, creeping closing in,
Dark shadows sneaking, peaking, following
Cold, colder, shiver, darkness gripping like and eagles claw
Piercing skin, screeching louder, pain vibrating for ever more
...
Idle chatter, ladies natter, men are nervous, children clatter
round and round never sitting still
cannot wait much longer ‘til.
Here she is in all her splendour,
...
Just some thoughts -Enjoy)
Nelson Mandela
We have never met, but
I first heard about you, when I was young.
Good, bad
I’m not sure.
Locked away for years,
Hidden.
My friends never said a word,
We were just children, fed, clothed;
Maybe no one had told them about your land
Or, they did not comprehend.
I heard songs,
Saw protests and placards.
I did not fully understand,
But I do remember;
The anger, the despair.
South Africa House
An iconic place.
Outside, everyone gathered to
“Cry Freedom”.
On my 25th Birthday
You were headline news, memorable;
Free.
We talked about you at home.
Still no word from my friends back then
Did they know how you had suffered,
What you stood for.
I don’t see them now, but
I still have the paper from the day you were released.
Twenty years later,
I’m standing on the step
Where you once stood. Walking,
Where you had trodden.
I cannot believe I am here.
The iconic place.
Momentarily, I close my eyes
Pray,
But you don’t appear and, anyway,
You do not know who I am.
Or, maybe you do.
Not me, but all those like me
Who want freedom and change;
Admire your dignity and calm
And now we wait, knowing
Although you will soon be gone
You will leave us all with hope.
We can work together.
I sit and talk out you to my children,
My friends
We never met, but
We wait.
June 2013