His Presence

A childhood incident explains the secret that
opened every heart to Madiba: when he was
humiliated by being thrown from a donkey, he
concluded that humiliation makes one suffer in
a cruel way, so  he decided to defeat opponents
without dishonouring them

This is how Mandela defeated his opponents in
politics, honouring them in such a way that they
gave in to his requests; only he held the key to
their hearts to gently guide them into the dawn
of African nationalism, only he could convince
the enemy to destroy their own power and

Become aware of the dignity of all human beings,
only Madiba could open the heart of everyone on
earth: his respect and warm interest brought our
most honourable feelings to the surface and his
presence meant acceptance and friendship, his
honour is still reflecting in the lives

Of all he touched…

[11 January 2014]

My Colleague Annette

I’ll never forget how my new colleague
Annette came to my rescue when the
boss told me to move heavy boxes to
make space for more dictionaries

Annette saw my confusion, immediately
applied her pragmatic wisdom to help me
carry out the instruction, though my boss
derided my inadequacy in manual jobs

Though they laughed at my awkward attempts
to stack books in a box, the kind courtesy of
Annette shall always be in my memory - to
be carried forever where my spirit roams…

[10 January 2014]

Filling Our Hearts

Pictures of Madiba on my office wall,
revelling in the thought that Nelson
Mandela’s Rivonia speech is one of
the most famous speeches of all time

That his letters to his wife, the faithful
Winnie, are some of the most beautiful
love letters in the English language, that
Madiba’s inner life was in the public eye

Since his incarceration on Robben Island,
being purged in the fires of discrimination,
yet his spirit soured to produce the most
wonderful thoughts on great concepts like

Freedom and Forgiveness, his studies of
other freedom fights led him to conclude
violence is not an option, studying the
Afrikaner nation, the enemy, led him to

The Anglo-Boer war; he understood this iron-
hard nation better than they did themselves,
he realised killing them would rob the world
of its cultural diversity

And would entail total destruction, razing 
all evidence of civilisation, leaving a smoking
relic of the erstwhile Apartheid land with its
infrastructure, farms and suburbs in flames

He decided political freedom at the cost of
a conflagration would be an empty victory –
though victory is assured given the superior
numbers of the oppressed Africans, yet

They would have to start from scratch, a scorched-
earth policy is guaranteed to bring results at the cost
of everything civilisation wrought in this lovely land,
the world would pitch in to support the African cause

The enemy would be annihilated, leaving a burning
country to start anew without the guidance of the few
who knew how to use technology - newly freed men and
women would need guidance on good governance –

His hand stretched out with an olive branch had been
ignored before but as South Africans were forced to
their knees, the hand was taken by the oppressor who
saw the evil of its ways with institutionalised crime

Where criminals led the fight against freedom conscious-
ness, the small group of privileged enjoying that status
solely by the colour of their skin - and not merit - the
white population treated like little children

Not allowed to hear or see the oppression and pain, brain-
washed by church and state into regarding the status quo
as God-given rule - had to be freed from an artificial
golden cage - Madiba saw everyone would lose

In a righteous game of justified vengeance against white men;
Nelson Mandela was big enough to realise that receiving a
hesitant hand from the enemy with a tearful request to spare
their lives in a new South Africa, meant they were ready

To accept democracy, losing power and might for the price
of their lives spared and the beautiful, beloved land saved
from rivers of blood and bombs exploding everywhere -
killing civilians while the works of man would be replaced

By the smoke of cities razed – how privileged the beloved
country, our exquisite South Africa, that one Quixotic man,
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, came to share the dream for
the land and promised to save their lives if they shared

Everything - how miraculous that the oppressor chose life,
stripped from the political power which they had misused
for so long, stripped from propaganda and exploitation by
religion to keep white people docile while enslaving

The majority of Africans in this land, Mandela patiently
repeated his request for freedom until the oppressor was
on their knees, he waited and did not force it to do so at
the cost of annihilation of the small white community

Mandela is our Moses who led the imprisoned, enslaved
people into the promised land where all are free to prosper
as well as they can; where all decide who should govern and
everyone is free to go anywhere; the former slavery

And lack of human dignity finally gone, the white oppressor
unarmed and overawed by the great, Messiah-like quality
of a group of silent holy men, led by a giant whose legend
continues the fame of the Old Testament’s prophets

Whose forgiveness equals seventy-times seven as the group
followed Mandela into suffering, losing everything, family,
income, safety, making the ultimate sacrifice for the freedom
of all in South Africa; today Madiba towers over our land

A man so big everything shrinks into insignificance beside him –
thank you Madiba for waiting patiently until the old regime were
forced into non-violent submission, not storming the oppressor’s
citadel earlier because the fires would have been burning still

The minority group massacred and the land reduced to ashes –
thank you for your skill in leading the nation to reconciliation
filling our hearts with love for you and all you represented…

[8 January 2014]

Cannot Find The Door

Double vision, can’t read newspapers, an advantage
as the news is bad, Central African Republic falling
into anarchy, Congo fighting Ugandan rebels in the
east - thought January blues was a thing of the past

But no, this morning inner bleakness like the bleach
used to wash shirts, spelling death to living things –
like chlorine – enveloped me in impenetrable black
clouds and last night several strangling nightmares

Swept me into a place of wordless misery – maybe
the fact that I was born in January is the reason for
this annual depression that spoils the beginning of
everything, staying at home & the return to work

I thought modern medication would be stronger
than that – but no, mute I stare at my newspaper
wishing the letters would stop dancing before my
eyes, wishing I was young enough to dream of

An alternative to earthly life, at present reality is
far too hard and bright and I cannot find the door
to my inner Wonderland…

[5 January 2014]

Threshold Of Hope

Double vision, cannot read any more –
new pills will not be taken again, this is
worse than ever before, lack of muscle
tension and chemical depression will
combine to leave a catatonic wreck.

Ah well, this is a repetition of history –
only difference is I don’t feel anxiety
while sinking into the depths of inertia,
eyes slits enabling me to see a little bit
while looking up synonyms:

Apathy and unresponsiveness- oh, the
the fungus cure on the Thesaurus page
with yellowing toe nails is atrocious – but
I remain calm, the chronic pain and fear
of the old days are gone, I know

This forced indolence and the boredom
accompanying it will pass and eventually
I shall be active and interested in life again,
following rules always brings me back to
the threshold of hope where I belong!

[3 January 2014]

A New South Africa (REVISED)

Stormed into the office, told the first colleague I met
how wonderful our first President, Nelson Mandela,
was for me; - she coldly replied, for me he was just
anther terrorist. I said I respected her views & left
immediately, flabbergasted that a representative of
the tribe he saved, Dutch-Afrikaners, rejected their
saviour without taking an unbiased look at his life

It again confirmed my disgust with my tribe, I refuse
to identify with the right-wing and went off in search
of a kindred spirit, found Ulrike who also watched a
special Mandela channel and cried when he was
sentenced to prison on Robben Island, just as I had
cried when I saw what evil politicians did to him,
suddenly I realised that Tsavendas killed Verwoerd

Because he could not stand Verwoerd’s evil smile,
the whole corps of Afrikaner politicians were evil and
so was their church, hiding their moral bankruptcy by
firm media control, censure and falsehood - keeping
a generation of ordinary people under their spell; my
dad never succumbed and shocked everyone saying
that every political leader in life was a crook

My dad deplored the way Africans were defrauded by
conniving Europeans, could not stand their suffering
because their pass was not right, clocked them in at
work and organised passes for whoever needed it -
today I feel my dad was right although he frequently
lost his job - he took the part of the underdog - I am
so glad - what a wonderful world in which

Mandela created a new South Africa!

[2 January 2014]

Brainwash Myself

A sparkling day, sunshine making everything transparent
just to show me what I shall miss when returning to work
tomorrow, over and over I promise myself I shall prepare
a production report for December - indicating zero words
done as I was on leave, then translating at least one page,
more if I can, of the documents on my desk

I’m trying to brainwash myself into a new mind-set for
the new year; to work harder than before and making a
better life for all, stay away from the wrong foods and
be joyful all the year round, stay aware of the wonder
of life, focused on having fun no matter what job has
to be done, it might just work in the new year

So many things improved in my life, my empty heart
has been filled with joy by our nuclear family and my
government job as translator became variegated when
Nelson Mandela took charge of South Africa - fears
which marred my youth have evaporated and now I
know just how privileged we are

Living on the Southern tip of Africa!

[1 January 2014]