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Gert Strydom, 5 january 2016
The secret room
In the big old white house against the hill
my mother had a pantry, a secret place
which she locked,
where she kept ingredients
for cakes, cookies, ginger beer
and all the lovely surprises that she made
and there were baking powder,
icing sugar, raisins, cherries
and dried fruit
and sometimes I would wiggle
the lock open
with a small piece of wire
and just looked at the shelves
with stacked things,
in the twilight of the room
trying catch the great smell
of everything around me,
but wouldn’t dare to touch a single thing.
Gert Strydom, 4 january 2016
It had been a hell of spring with the sun hanging scorching
It had been a hell of spring with the sun hanging scorching,
with nature longing in the flowering season
for the rain that had not come and the days turned over and over
while everything did dry out in record summer temperatures,
while the heat did daily creep higher and higher,
while in the yard flowers and vegetables did continually wither
and on the plains cattle and sheep did die of the drought
while I was still praying for rain to fall
to the God of the universe
and at times the rain did pour down before the heat did come again
in a exhausting summer and I am astounded
that everywhere there still is life,
that buds did appear out of the earth
so as if God was secretly active.
Gert Strydom, 3 january 2016
The marsh
African coots fly up black in the marsh
and long-tailed widow birds hang
somewhat tempting as if I can catch them
and I am startled as plovers do bombard me
but the marsh does tempt me past them
with a own unknown insistence
till where a Cape monitor peeps like a crocodile
and scared I run back, right across the maize field,
do drive away a group of baboons in my fright,
rock rabbits do run in all directions,
donkeys do stampede out of my way,
the dogs of the neighbours do howl,
the round gate does spin around
and I do not wake mother, as it is Sabbath.
Gert Strydom, 31 december 2015
For my darling, with New Year
At night when the darkness folds around me
and I do hold you tightly
I hear a swarm of mosquitoes flying away
and in dreams I do meet you again.
You are the one that I do love
as if from the beginning
you have been destined for me
and I do wish every beautiful thing
with joy that is braided into your days,
that the days that do come
will have love, bravery and peace
far past the days of old age
as everything that is lovely
I want to say to you.
Gert Strydom, 31 december 2015
The old year
When I look at the unsettling things
of the old year
I do wonder how the New Year is going to look
and what kind of things it is going to bring?
or is my whole life twisted
through dark forces that do not abate
or is everything settled in the rays of a new sun
that reaches with its heat to the darkest places?
Am I like a leave that falls from a tree
being swept up by a wild wind
that blows wherever it wants,
that at times does fall and rise again,
when lightning bolts do ominous flash
and are bound to the power of destiny
when the last words come over my lips?
Gert Strydom, 31 december 2015
Today people are not interested
Today people are not interested
in a creator God
and an angel that does protect with a flaming sword
while they are tied to the depths of evolution.
Even Jesus Christ to whom the Old Testament does point,
of whom the New Testament is full,
His death and the cross does not matter
according to some historic doctrines
and so called knowledge.
Still many people do believe that demonic powers do exist
while others wait on the Cosmic Christ (Satan) to appear
as if he is the saviour of the world
and in secret they go ahead with their works
while they do try to get rid of the Christ of the bible.
From the time of Simon Magus
agnostic doctrines come
and today theososofical people propagate their outlook
with views of blasphemy.
There are people that lecture at theological seminaries
at universities
almost like at sewers of blasphemy
do teach curates about a god outside of the bible
and still they do profess that they are Christians
while they do remove Jesus Christ as God out of the bible
with they break their bond and relationship
that strays away from Him.
Gert Strydom, 30 december 2015
South Africa is also my country
From birth I have been planted
in this country
and nowhere else
does lure me away from here,
even when being without a job
and affirmative action
does scale down my abilities to nothing,
I am not taken from this land,
where I still do talk my own language,
and I still do bend my knees
to the omnipotent Lord God
and even if I am astounded
by the clowns that do govern,
are astonished by the things
that happens in the parliament and in the country
it changes nothing
to me being a white South African
and they can give away their barbaric culture
free and gratis to other people
while I do stay with my own
and have integrity
and not even the whole Africa
can remove me from my country.
Gert Strydom, 30 december 2015
In this distant country
In this distant country
everyone wants to find
An own place in the sun,
and some people want to use force
to get a piece of earth
and want to drive away others
from their farms
and lives
but I do wonder where
a person can find recourse
where there is a place
in all of this
for you and me?
Gert Strydom, 29 december 2015
What fanciful lives we lead
What fanciful lives we lead:
being soldier, accountant, father and husband
and yet at night kneel at our beds
like small children
in trust to a creator God
always comprehending that we are nothing
but mere men.
Gert Strydom, 28 december 2015
As if they are beacons
When the lightning did that night
flaming search the earth in blue-white branches,
mother did draw the curtains close.
On the porch I did see blue-white sparks running,
the rattle of some more thunder
did sound further away,
I could smell the fragrance of the rain
where fresh it did fume through the closed windows,
and early the power had been cut by the thunderstorm
and mother did open the Bible
at the light of a flaring candle
and did read of the rainbow
that comes after each rainstorm
and later the clouds were blown away,
while the doves did coo right through the night
and the moon did peep down from the heaven,
while I could see stars burning
as if they are beacons
that God had put into space.
Gert Strydom, 27 december 2015
You are my darling (sonnet)
You are my darling, my wife,
the one with whom I walk through life,
the one that is mine, my inspiration and hope,
the one that holds me tight against her breast
and when you are right against me, it is as if I do behold myself
in your gaze and at times I am stripped from my own conceit,
when we do have deep conversations with each other and with God
and I do wish that which you are for me would never abate,
that each and every day will just bring bigger understanding of each other
as you have grown into to me and are a part of my flesh
and I do know you, do know what you are thinking even before you do talk
as you are my magic potion, the best part of my life and my healing,
you are the one that have ideals of what I can become,
the one that creates a place of peace for me in a world full of hatred.
Gert Strydom, 24 december 2015
On Christmas
the shepherds did see
that night a strange star in the sky
where they tended their flocks roaming free
and flashing bright like lightning on the eye
an angel appeared in great glory
and afraid to die
they met the messenger from God
who brought good news to all mankind
and all men where brothers even the stranger
when the angel told them to find
a baby wrapped in clothes in a manger
who is Jesus Christ the saviour
and a multitude of angels did appear
while the song resounded on the ear:
“glory to God in the highest and on earth
peace to men on whom his favour does rest”
and the shepherds had great cheer at the birth
of the child who did love without self-interest
and round and round their flock did trot
where they had left them without care
to find the son of God and of man
in a stable round pots of earthenware
and so the world’s redemption began
while their great news they did share
and the world was different from before.
Gert Strydom, 23 december 2015
Last night I dreamt of you
Last night I dreamt of you,
waking up in sorrow
from a fitful sleep
while you slowly faded away
like the night
with the beginning of the new day
and there was rain pattering down,
with a fresh smell
almost like that of making love
with clouds milling in the sky above
and every now and then
a thunder cracked down
blazing with intense light
and I thought that your smell,
the warmth of your body
was still lingering,
was still here with me in the room
and I walked into the cold wet night
to bathe my face and body,
to get my head clear
and still you felt near.
Gert Strydom, 22 december 2015
Where are we now?
There had been a night
that the darkness
did really shake her cloak
and hundreds of stars
fell out of the heaven
drawing lines in the sky,
the moon did hang red like blood
and blotted with the sun
in did flee away into the darkness
and people did notice these things,
did trust in the predictions
about these events
as if the coming of the Master
is right at the door
and sometimes I do wonder
when I look at this old world:
where are we now?
Gert Strydom, 21 december 2015
I had dreamt of you
I had dreamt of you
living in a world
where skies are always blue
and you loved me
with a kind of sincerity
and we had much joy
as just a girl and a boy,
had a kind of innocence
while our thoughts
whirled up like incense.
Your smile radiated like the sun
while you loved me like your only one
and our companionship was sweet
while butterflies fluttered at our feet.
You kissed me with sheer bliss
and there was magic in this
but I had to go then
back to the world of men
as promises I had to keep
in a world full of pain and strive
and I was devoid of further sleep,
I was devoid from you in my life.
Gert Strydom, 20 december 2015
At night the mind plays its tricks
At night the mind plays its tricks
reliving situations from days gone bye
as soon as there’s darkness in the sky
and sleep heavies the eyes
dreams bring out their gimmicks
of loves lost and wars past
but I would rather dream
of only you
of the sky blue
and how lovely it is
to be true
and trying to make it last.
Gert Strydom, 18 december 2015
Inside you and I dance
The flames in the fireplace make tongues
and we are dancing slowly
while the candles are burning intimately
and are throwing long shadows
and your eyes glow large,
you look innocent
and it does feel as if the whole world
is laying open before us
and I feel the artery
beating in your neck,
your perfume fills my nose
and there is something very deep
that I do read in your golden eyes.
Outside the branches of the avocado tree
Is beating on the roof
and time is busy
growing its own wings
but inside you and I dance
as if free from all things.
Gert Strydom, 17 december 2015
One Military Hospital
At Klipdrift military base
just outside Potchefstroom
where now the kaki bush,
other weeds and grass are knee high
through ash holes, rubbish, broken glass
barbwire, tins and stones we went
with fire in movement exercises
and live ammunition fired over us.
We ran, cat walked, leopard crawled
and was sent to and fro
with bullets hitting up dust around us
and some grenades were tossed
a distance away.
The very next day my left knee
was busted good and well
and when I reported sick
the PTI-corporal
almost busted his gut
and touched the crossed swords
on his arms
and told me if by any chance
I came out of the sickbay that day
he would see to it
that I would really take a beating.
The doctor at the sickbay,
called in another one
and yet another one
and the three of them
didn’t want to treat me
and said that there was a big chance
of me losing my knee
which was swollen like a rugby ball
and they sent me by ambulance
straight to One Military Hospital
at Voortrekkerhoogte in Pretoria.
I was wheeled into casualties,
where I had to wait some time
while shot up people
flown in straight from the war
was treated first.
When they finally got to me
they took one look at the leg
and wheeled me into
an operating theatre
where they asked
if I wanted to walk again?
I just said heal me
and they removed my uniform,
strapped me down
with bands around my feet
hands and legs
and gave two injections
just above the knee cap
and said that it was local anaesthetic
but wouldn’t help much
and that nothing would really
take the pain away
of the next procedure.
They pushed a big syringe
with a large needle
in under my knee cap
and the pain was great
as they pulled out puss
but I didn’t make a sound
while tears of pain
were in my eyes.
The laboratory identified
the infection that I had
and they said that I have got
septic arthritis
and everything was swell
while I got a drip
with the right antibiotics
and some pain killers,
watched television from a set
on the wall,
had my own radio
to choose music from
and could even order
from a menu
and it was like staying
in a great hotel
where they fixed me properly
and after two weeks
that was like a holiday
I walked out of there.
[PTI=Physical training instructor.]
Gert Strydom, 16 december 2015
Something about a bird in a tree
I. Solitary
There’s a solitary bird
sitting in the berry tree
as if watching me
and every now and then
pecks a few, before looking again
and it comes daily
and maybe now
sees me as its friend
and I watch it eating
with the sun glittering
on its green feathers
and its long tail
swishing up and down
and when I look away
I do hear it calling, calling
as if trying to attract my attention
as if seeing me looking
holds something of company for it.
II. The going
Why did you not make me aware
that never again
I would see you there
in the berry tree
from early morning
singing from dawn to dusk.
You were chirping and indifferently fluttering
like every other day
and I did not realise
that you were going away
with the setting sun
and now any movement
in the berry tree
catches me to see you,
but only to realize
that a sparrow
is also hungry.
Gert Strydom, 14 december 2015
While the year hangs skeleton
While the year hangs skeleton
in this winter
there are sparrows, starlings
and doves catching my eyes
and from somewhere
a squadron of weavers suddenly does arrive
that descends on the seed
that I have spread
like a hungry crowd out of the sky
that does sing jubilant
while they eat the seed
and I know
that the Lord does also
stretch out His hand
with wonderful things for me.
Gert Strydom, 11 december 2015
I gave my love to you
(after Christina Rossetti)
I gave my love to you,
but to my heart
you did not want to be true
and from my love you did part
and to me for reasons unknown
you viewed my love as childish, told me to wait
you made my enemy your own
and my heart was thrown to the whims of fate.
With my shattered heart to Him I did come
and found some solitude,
from all my wandering a home
and although my heart was marred and crude
His love was selfless
and His power filled my nothingness.
[Reference: “Twice” by Christina Rossetti.]
Gert Strydom, 10 december 2015
No other painting
I also wanted to see your beautiful fairies
and when you painted one it was a reality to me
but when it got a name
coincidence was a maybe
and that painting was my property
but when you did cut it up and burn it
I was upset, angry and you were impudent and stupid-cocky
and I totally astonished
and no other painting could match that one.
Gert Strydom, 9 december 2015
Field of maize
Maybe you do remember a field of maize
that stretches into the distance
where your father did take you by the hand
and at times did draw his fingers through your hair
where the memories do remain
in the thoughts of a child
from the cares of the world free
with hair blown into strings by the wind
but constantly you do live in a world of glass, steal and concrete
and forgotten are the days in the bright summer sun
but in our garden there is a flower
that looks like corn
where it comes out of the earth
and later does dazzle with amaryllis flowers.
Gert Strydom, 8 december 2015
The red arum lilies
The red arum lilies that I did bring to you
you pressed into the ground at the garden-flat
as if you wanted to forget me
and when we later did marry and live together
you found those flowers again,
did know of a better place for them
and pulled them one after the other out of the ground
and planted them at the palisades in a row.
Gert Strydom, 7 december 2015
Would my words
Would my words keep filling you with hope
and would you still stay true to me
although time passes in years
while your humanity feels sold out?
Would I still be able to trust you
and hold you tight
when the vortex of life wants to swallow me
and will we still be able to built a life together
when my career is falling apart
and the thunder of destiny does lash out around me
and I have lost every friend
and stand alone in the entire universe?
Or do you live in a world with hues of grey
while I still proof true to you?
Gert Strydom, 6 december 2015
When the front door
When the front door does close behind you
and the house awaits me without a sound
when some of the furniture is missing
and does leave open space and no children do laugh
then I will try to forget you
and hear the dogs howling heart broken
but in my heart I will know
that something of our love is still hiding there
and I will keep longing
as if seeing you again
just depends on the next moment
but know that the goodbye
does remain the reality between us
without reconciliation between you and me.
Gert Strydom, 5 december 2015
At dusk
I
Memories of the past day do flood my mind
and my whole world has changed from what it was before.
I see a movement at the window’s blind,
hear you walk on the wooden floor past the door
but thought struck pass the world rushes on
and the setting sun says that the day is gone.
II
At twilight my study is a peaceful place
and you walk in with a bright smile on your face
and the tranquillity is no longer mine
but outside nature is at rest as if touched by the divine
and inside it’s only you and I
while the first stars do touch a pitch black sky.
Gert Strydom, 16 november 2015
Child
At a time I was to you like a god,
could do nothing wrong in your eyes
and my car was far better than any other
but somehow somewhere something did change
and you did become distant as if I am a stranger,
as if you do not want to know me anymore
but at times you do still look at me,
want me to help you with your problems
and sometimes you do turn up the volume
of your music system to the very limit
and people have to avoid your room
but just when I thought that our relationship was coming to an end
I heard you say to your friends at the swimming pool
that I am the greatest dad in the entire world.
Gert Strydom, 13 november 2015
Cry
(after N.P. van Wyk Louw)
Into loneliness
caught between the silences
of four walls
I did hang your paintings.
For a while I was captured
in our past,
but do now realise
that no light shines upon my hope
and do throw the hope, longing,
pain and even the heartache
into the darkness of the night
so that only the moon
and stars are witnesses
of that which at a time had been between us.
[Reference: “Skreeu” (Shout) by N.P. van Wyk Louw.]
Gert Strydom, 12 november 2015
Maybe 4
Maybe a new tomorrow is just a wish
where everything will be better
without any pain or fear
and maybe you can get
a prospect
of a place where everything is better
where people live together in happiness and peace
and where there is more than just forgiveness
where people do continually astound you
and love comes to meaning and reality.
Gert Strydom, 12 november 2015
Maybe 3
Maybe we both will be lost
in the back streets of Paris,
or will take a taxi
in the narrow streets of Spain?
Maybe we will rather have to go
to Uvongo or Margate,
or to somewhere on the South Coast
or at Stilbaai or further on
to walk beaches full of tracks,
to experience the wind, the sun and sea,
to know each other better and walk together,
to burn to the colour of a wild olive tree
or if you do really want to
we could ask that strange thing
that hangs flashing in the sky
to take us away to Mars?
Gert Strydom, 12 november 2015
Maybe 2
Maybe I will never have any children
and your children that I regard as my own
who constantly demolish me with their words
and try to overwhelm my life with violence and force
may stop and maybe you will lie against me
to procreate a new life during this pregnant night
or maybe I will have to wait forever
on small bare feet to totter
or maybe between the white and black
I will have to hope constantly on conversion
and keep looking for grey arias in the depths of my heart
as maybe things will change with the passing of time
or maybe I do need only to write these words down
and have got to forget of a child with eyes and a body.
Gert Strydom, 11 november 2015
To be us
You are so much a part of me
that I do not have to remember
where you fit into my life
and are not able to forget
my feelings for you
and as each day passes
the small little things
brings us still closer
with feelings that are true.
Loving comes so easily
like rain falling from the sky
and the you and I
are truly blessed to be us.
Gert Strydom, 10 november 2015
Photocopy machine
You lightning flash a moment
like a laser beam,
the image of my piece of paper
is taken off
and while you grumble
you spit it out at one side
and can make innumerable more
while most people view you
as a exceptional wonderful thing
but when you do get tired
and eat papers
people have to gut them out
from somewhere deep
in your intestines.
Gert Strydom, 9 november 2015
I do love Africa
I do love Africa
and although my predecessors
did pay with their blood
to be able to live here
there is no fear in me
even when shots were fired
as somewhere the signs of the white
is thundered into the ground
as if coming from heaven itself
and although some black rises
through the red-brown dust
and is present in drums
when indunas dance with their spears around fires
and although everywhere there are hungry people
that has been broken by poverty,
and people are praying for rain
while the desert is stretching wide
I still want to remain in my Africa
as after more than three hundred years
even if culture and language
leaves its own mark
we are without any colour
with the sand being blown by the same winds
and only people,
visitors to this
incredible continent
that does belong to all the children that she brings forth.
Gert Strydom, 6 november 2015
While everything is turning brown outside
While everything is turning brown outside
and this winter is getting its grip
you are still
the most beautiful flower in my garden,
and your fragrance stays in my thoughts with me,
while I hear your voice
by playing your songs over and over again
and I wish that I could steal you,
could transplant to be here with me.
Gert Strydom, 5 november 2015
The crumbling man
It’s as if my whole life is breaking in pieces
and all around me I see some of the pieces lying
without the opportunity to do anything about it
as if the new government of the country
and destiny together
does tear my career apart
and from one contract to the next
I do jump
like pieces of a puzzle that are getting less
and when there are no more pieces
I am alone and extradited
as if nothing more
can fit into
my puzzle.
Gert Strydom, 4 november 2015
My small Jack Russell dog
My small Jack Russell dog sniffs around
on the ground
to find something nice to eat
or some other kind of meat
and a paper blows in the wind
but it does not bother her at all
where she is standing over something small
Gert Strydom, 3 november 2015
With self contempt I stand in the veldt
(after Rudolf Otto Wierner)
With self contempt I stand in the veldt
and each heroic act
is just another task that destiny does demand
that does not make me greater than others
and the hunger to kill
flows on and forth
while war machinery
does sing in a deadly choir
and the rifle in my hands
that point to the enemy
is stripped from any language
but death that it brings about
and the knowledge does intrude
that still it brings destruction
[Reference: “Hungerblümchen” by Rudolf Otto Wierner.]
Gert Strydom, 2 november 2015
The fallen Cuban soldier
Your body lies shattered on the veldt
in the long rust brown winter grass
where you are almost devoured
and half burned
where you did fall out of a battle tank
when that deadly projectile did hit
and the blue sky, the wind that blows lightly at times
now has no impact on you
and scavengers will bring your bones to skeleton,
where you do have nothing left of life
and in Cuba the great leader will roll another fat cigar,
will draw his cheeks full in pleasure of it
and still your wife will remember you
while life does rush on.
Gert Strydom, 20 october 2015
There is a time when night sneaks in
There is a time when night sneaks in,
when the roof creaks, while losing its heat
when chairs, tables, cupboards and all objects
become indistinct
part of the darkness of the night
and then my love
it’s a magical thing
to have your hot body against mine,
to feel you’re lips brushing on my skin
to become enveloped by you
as if everything is away
in a different reality.
Gert Strydom, 19 october 2015
After the farm invasions in Zimbabwe
The violent dispossession of farms
in Zimbabwe
is seen by some people as lawlessness (1)
and that it only is the consequence
of ethnic and racial hatred that is present
where the state does collapse, (2)
where lawful authority does lack
and that nothing else is hidden
beyond those occurrences
but when you look deeper
into all of this
facts do come to light
that is utterly disturbing.
It is a known fact
that the ruler in Zimbabwe
that has been voted out but still does rule
Robert Mugabe
is a Jesuit (3) (4) (5)
in the Roman Catholic Church
and that church
believes in the natural law
as had been set out by Thomas Aquinas
in his Summa Theologiae (6)
and everywhere where the state and church
had been one throughout history
there had been grave danger
as during the dark ages
where people had been executed
for that in which they do believe.
According to this natural law
possessions like farms, houses
cars and even tools
is being seen as only
in the title belonging to the owner
but that the community
has got the right of the use of it
above the owner
and even the violent dispossession
of such property
by the community
is justified.
[Footnotes:
(1) “ná grond-invasions in Zimbabwe” (After ther ground-invasions in Zimbabwe)” by Antjie Krog.
(2) “There is one type of fear more devastating in its impact than any other: the systematic fear that arises when a state begins to collapse. Ethnic hatred is the result of the terror that arises when legitimate authority disintegrates.” Michael Ignatieff: Blood and Belonging – Croatia and Serbia.
(3) “The Society of Jesus (Latin: Societas Iesu, S.J., SJ or SI) is a male religious congregation of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits.” O'Malley, John W., ed. (2006). "The Formula of the Institute (p. XXXV)". Jesuits 2 (2nd ed.). Toronto:University of Toronto Press.
(4) “Robert Gabriel Mugabe was born near the Kutama Jesuit Mission in the Zvimba District northwest of Salisbury, in Southern Rhodesia, to a Malawian father, Gabriel Matibili, and a Shona mother, Bona, both Roman Catholic. He was the third of six children. He had two older brothers, Michael (1919–34) and Raphael. Both his older brothers died when he was young, leaving Robert and his younger brother, Donato (1926–2007), and two younger sisters – Sabina and Bridgette.” Mugabe mourns reclusive brother". newzimbabwe.com. 11 December 2009. Retrieved 4 August2013.
(5) “Mugabe was raised as a Roman Catholic, studying in Marist Brothers and Jesuit schools, including the exclusive Kutama College, headed by an Irish priest, Father Jerome O'Hea, who took him under his wing. Through his youth, Mugabe was never socially popular nor physically active and spent most of his time with the priests or his mother when he was not reading in the school's libraries. He was described as never playing with other children but enjoying his own company. "Robert Mugabe: The man behind the fist".The Economist. 29 March 2007.
(6) The Papal Encyclical: “Rerum Novarum:” “Goods of some are due to others by the natural law. There is no sin if the poor take the goods of their neighbours. In cases of need, all things are common property, for the need has made it common. Not only is such taking of another’s property not a sin, it is not even crime. It is lawful for a man to succour his own need by means of another’s property by taking either openly or secretly, nor is this properly speaking, theft or robbery. It is not theft, properly speaking to take secretly and use another’s property in a case of extreme need, because that which he takes for the support of his own life becomes his own property by reason of that need. In a case of a like need a man may also take secretly another’s property to succour his neighbour’s need.” Summa Theologiae ii-ii 7th Article by Thomas Aquinas”
Poet’s note: This verse illustrates how easily man can make mistakes, where the church and state is one. Anyone who reads this verse as an assault on the Roman Catholic Church misinterprets it.]
Gert Strydom, 19 october 2015
The small redbreast sings and dances
The small redbreast sings and dances
up and down, up and down
while it is longing for the rain
and under the tree my two dogs are barking,
are jumping to try and catch that bird
and it’s a curious kind of thing
but the small redbreast is not disturbed
until the first lightning bolt comes
and great drops of rain pour down around him.
Gert Strydom, 18 october 2015
I love you
More than words can say
are the feelings
that lies deep in my heart
and although you tell me
about the intensity of your feelings,
there are no words
that can carry mine to you
as I do love you
more intensely than the bright sun,
more than the grains of sand
that you can hold in your hand,
deeper than the bright blue ocean,
past the distance of the most far off star
and when you are close
with your arms wrapped in love around me
my breath is taken away
and it feels as if eternally
I can bind my life to yours
as I do love you
with feelings up to now unknown
and the glance in your eyes,
the smile on your face
has got a sparkle that goes right through me.
There is electricity every time
that your hand touches mine
and like two love struck teenagers we are infected
with something that no other people has got,
with passion that keeps starting afresh,
with a flame that can never be smothered.
Gert Strydom, 16 october 2015
Walls
(In answer to W.E.G. Louw)
We did receive this country as property
that we did rather live in
as to conquer with a flint lock rifle
and we came to the open wide veldt,
did erect walls
to hold out the enemy, the predator
and the baboon,
did create cultivated fields,
even at places
where crops do not really belong,
out of our own crops of maize, wheat
and cattle did live, did map down a piece of land,
until Ratel armoured cars, Olifant main battle tanks
and Mirage fighter planes
did have to stop the enemy that were surrounding us,
where we did won battle upon battle and did destroy the Cubans
and a bald headed man did bring about great calamity,
where his brothers cannot anymore eat a piece of own bread,
where he did create beggars out of the Afrikaner nation,
did forget of the right of existence of his own brothers
and all walls do decay
and foreigners from right over Africa do stream in.
[Reference: “Mure” (Walls) by W.E.G. Louw.]
Gert Strydom, 16 october 2015
A child is a strange thing
A child is a strange thing
that does take your most expensive books,
to stain them with his own drawings
and here and there words are twisted
and when that boy did find some of my first poems
he did write love poems for his girlfriend
and it was my own words with which he was wooing
that he did write down word upon word
and that file of mine was just gone
until I did find it beneath his bed
and to his mother those poems were inane, foolish and bad
but not for that child
and I wonder what he now does think of my verses,
if at times he still does place my words in his own ink?
Gert Strydom, 16 october 2015
Baby lies so fast asleep
Baby lies so fast asleep
that I dare not take her
into my arms,
too big the chance to wake her.
Rosy cheeks and a raspberry mouth
like a little angel, a sweet delight
but she’s someone else’s.
Sometimes at night
nothing can cuddle her tears away
and a shrill little voice
hangs in the air, piercing the darkness
cutting right until day
and those are the times
that mothers and fathers do pray.
Gert Strydom, 15 october 2015
It is a pitch-dark night
It is a pitch-dark night
as if sky is filled with tar
and just here and there I notice stars
and we cat-sneak around
in a dark enemy camp
right through some thorn trees.
The moon is not yet out
and I am freezing before
I pass through a bare open piece of veldt
and it’s as if the backpack
does not sit right
and the web belt is scraping against me.
Around us there are guards
that we have difficulty noticing
until one of them lights a cigarette
and the blue flame
does suddenly brighten his face
and he is just a few paces away
from where we are.
Suddenly we do notice
other guards, lights
and vehicles
that drives up and down
and when a light
suddenly is switched off in front of us
I can hear my own heart beating
in my ears
and we try
to melt
into the long grass
and are aware of a vehicle
that leaves a road and are driving into our direction
and we want to cock our weapons
but we are too near to
the enemy guards
and between two of them
when that vehicle
does drive up to them.
We leopard crawl
to the shelter of few bushes
to escape the light
of the vehicle
and we can swear
that they did notice us.
Carefully I draw the knife
out of my boot
and when the vehicle does stop
between the guards
we both we both cock our rifles
which we aim at the enemy.
One of the soldiers
who climbs out of the vehicle
walks right into our direction
and the lights of the vehicle
lets him look like an apparition
in the way
that he walks closer
and we both do know
that this is trouble.
The man gets still closer
and I can hear
his boots crunch
over the small bushes and sand
where he stops
between the two of us
and he has got to be a Cuban
as I smell a Havana cigar
on which he sucks enthusiastic
and the knife feels cold in my hand
while he does unbutton his pants
and he has got to be night blind
as he is not aware of us
while I smell the salty odour
of his urine.
It feels like an eternity
before he turns around
and talking in Spanish walks back
and the vehicle
does depart a while later.
Gert Strydom, 14 october 2015
Hecuba
(after Petra Muller)
Who passes on the sidewalk she wants to grab,
wants to bite the postman’s arm right off,
motorbikes and bicycles she wants to catch
and every newspaper delivery man
and so the yard is guarded faithfully
from strange criminals that do sneak about and strange cats,
where she snarls at the dogs next door,
but when it’s full moon
she wants to get on her hind legs,
while she cries like a cruel wolf
while her head is jerked back
and there is nothing in the street that draws her attention.
[Reference: “Hekuba, die teef” (Hecuba, the bitch) by Petra Müller.]
Gert Strydom, 14 october 2015
A pastor
(after A.G. Visser)
At a time he could preach interesting,
could hold the mind of every person from the pulpit
but now that he is preaching words that have no power
people do wonder about his relationship with God.
[Reference: “’n Predikant” (A pastor) by A.G. Visser.]
Gert Strydom, 14 october 2015
A national leader
(after A.G. Visser)
After his release from prison the whole country did trust him
when he took the future of a rainbow nation in his hands,
did hold the lives and job opportunities of people in his hands
but now I wonder where everything has gone
while the whole country is falling apart.
[Reference: “’n Volksleier” (A national leader) by A.G. Visser.]
Gert Strydom, 14 october 2015
A theologian
(after A.G. Visser)
He has got the highest degree on Christianity at university
but did somehow somewhere loose the godliness of Jesus Christ
and where he now does convince others to his beliefs
I wonder what god now does serve?
[Reference: “’n Teoloog” (A theologian) by A.G. Visser.]
Gert Strydom, 14 october 2015
A dentist
At the local municipal clinic
the dentist rather pulls the teeth than fill them
and even if you have got a lot of pain
there is no compassion to be seen.
Gert Strydom, 13 october 2015
A conductor (in answer to T.T. Cloete)
Slowly his swings his stick up and again down
in rapture as if it’s a magic wand.
When he makes the music notes to come alive:
great classical masters rise from the grave.
Gert Strydom, 12 october 2015
Test pilot
Finely tuned against destiny
the joystick is taken
and not a drop of sweat does appear
while mechanically he measures indicators,
do pull back further on the power lever,
with the jets buzzing louder,
energy making the engines tremble
and with the brakes off the aeroplane gets an own life
and against the blue elegance of the heavenly roof
it’s only him, near to the Creator
of the endlessness
while he does blindly make adjustments,
hang for moments in the height
and the sun catches his circling flight.
Gert Strydom, 9 october 2015
When the roses are flowering bloody red in the garden
When the roses are flowering bloody red in the garden,
the hollyhocks grow with their long stems,
when the garden is full of geraniums, irises and lilies,
when the maize at the back of the yard looks gigantic,
do get heads and reach out like fingers,
when tomatoes grow in their beds
and beans do stretch up on the reeds
then I see mother gardening
when the sun does shine brightly in the blue sky.
Gert Strydom, 8 october 2015
There is something to summer nights
There is something to summer nights
that makes me think of you
and I am expecting something special
when my heart gambols wildly
and away in my hidden thoughts
your love did penetrate deeply
but sometimes like now
there is pain in the remembering
of how things can go wrong
but still your image keeps unfolding
and how much you are able to hurt me
is maybe something for another time
as love does forgive and does change the recollections
so that a person does just brush things aside
while constantly I do hope and trust
and always do see you with new eyes.
Gert Strydom, 7 october 2015
The joy of spring is everywhere
From sunrise rays cast their spell
on grass, flowers, bushes and trees
causing nature to bloom
and from dust and rain
nature is drawing its power
and breathing out the scent of spring.
All over birds are singing,
flying up and down
and butterflies, bees,
hornets and grasshoppers
are gliding, flying, buzzing
through the air
and the joy of spring is everywhere.
Gert Strydom, 7 october 2015
You are the one
You are the four walls of the house that does cover me,
that brings a cool shade against the destroying sun,
the place where in the cutting winter
I am hot and cosy
and when the stormy winds do bellow
when rain, hail and thunder do pour down
you are the one
to who I declare my heart,
the one that knows
the depths of my soul
as if my thoughts
are your own.
Gert Strydom, 6 october 2015
At peril
A time came that the minds of men did only evil breed
and only a small handful did God’s commandments heed
and the rebellious angel Lucifer was at his prime
while he inspired men to greater evil time after time
and God could use the elements, or lightning, fire or rain
to turn men back to Him again
could catapult fiery stones of hail,
slingshot lightning bolts that would not fail
but He never did force anyone,
did from their heart any wish remove
and suddenly all righteous men but almost one
who did trust, did believe and did love
was from the great world gone
while the evil dragon, serpent, snake
led most men to in the vilest things to partake
to have religious orgies, to sacrifice their children
to honor him and above all God to forsake
when in the hearts of men rebellion,
murder and every animal urge was awake
when their hands were with blood vermilion
and they burned to possess and with force to take
the livelihood from those who stayed to God true and good
and even their very last bit of food.
From reptiles they built war machine upon war machine
and nothing was as it had been
while they exalted themselves to living gods
and they became more evil than through eon’s holy angels had seen
and day and night
the deeds, the acts the words of men upon the earth
was in God’s sight
and He was sorry that He granted them birth
while every vile and evil thing was right in His face
across the barriers, the vast abyss of space
and God instructed his servant Noah to build an ark,
to in a great time of trouble during a deluge to embark
on sailing with the reverent few on waters as high
as the highest peaks that were almost touching the sky
and at the right time into that great ark’s hold
all kinds of wild animals by their own volition came
while the mystery of God’s protection and love did unfold
and thunderbolts did put the world aflame
while the molten fire beneath the earth
blasted into the sky from its girth,
and cities, buildings, mountains where turned around
while in huge earthquakes everything went underground
and from the sky poured floods of rain
while from the vaults of the earth some more water flowed
while huge waves lashed at the ark’s hold again and again
and the sky that was thunder lashed as if aflame glowed
while Noah prayed and prayed with his mortal hands at the wheel
of that great jumping, shuddering, swaying ship
with its almost indestructible ironwood keel
at times dead animals, the bodies of men past would slip
and for forty days and nights the sky the whole world was dim
while he was glad that God and His angels were protecting him
while all of the elements did roar as if God Himself was at war
and cleaning the entire world from what it had been before.
As a tremendous tide of water did all evil men devour,
and the elements did angrily rage
even Lucifer feared that it was his last hour
and the end of the rebellious war that he did wage
but God did His promises to Noah keep
and saved him and his family from the eternal deep.
II Fire from the sky on Sodom and Gomorra
They were proud of their most evil deeds
while things like rape in their hearts did leave small seeds
and the rainbow that did come again and again
promised that God will not destroy with a deluge or rain
and when holy angels as men came to the city’s gate
the sons and men could not wait
on the holy ones to use sodomy, to rape
and they cornered them with no escape.
Although they were struck with blindness
they did remain evil and were almost mindless
while with anger they did roar,
did become more wicked than before
and laughed while they did
the wrath of God implore
and did provoke and challenge Him,
until the light of day did go dim
and far away Abraham did pray
for God’s omnipotent hand to stay
but inSodomand Gomorra
the people did continually their wicked games play
whileLotwas but a pariah
and the people did the vilest things night and day
and from the sky God did his fire and brimstone pour
as a tide of fire that did evil men devour,
with a brightness that was like a falling sun
and even Lucifer feared that it was his last hour
whenLotand his daughters were left alone
while two large cities was turned to molten stone
and in great haste awayLotfled
while the most wicked people were gone
and still the sins of man goes on and on
till the dawning of the sun on the last horizon.
Gert Strydom, 5 october 2015
We wait for something
We wait for something
on the other side of tomorrow,
as if something special
is waiting on us in the new morning,
as if it is destined to be
the greatest day of all days
and yet today holds its promises,
holds the joys and delights
that at times is happening
and sometimes also the suffering and pain
that does shape us for the future
and sometimes being alive and truly living
is present in only one unforgettable moment in time.
Gert Strydom, 23 september 2015
Early spring (Italian sonnet)
While the light of day does cease,
still outside many trees are blossoming
in the serene beauty of this early spring
but nature at this twilight has some peace
before the time of danger does increase
when nightly predators take to their wing
there is activity in the smallest nocturnal thing,
that hunts and feed and breeds with ease
as life comes to greatness in large and small
as every living thing is in a way special
in this time of new birth and change
and it’s as if the blessings of God fall on all
and even in things superficial
the entire world His hand does rearrange.
Gert Strydom, 22 september 2015
Tonight when you did come lie down next to me
Tonight when you did come lie down next to me
it was if I did smell the fragrance of wild field flowers,
in the darkness I could differentiate your perfection,
and you were the most beautiful flower
while your eyes did gleam emerald-green,
and I could feel your heart beating,
while it had been a enchanting evening
while the rays of the moon fell over your face
and beamed as if you were holy,
while we both did know of our passion,
did know of the deep bond
that our love does bring and you did lie comfortable
against me and I did touch your soft skin
while we shared the intimate hours of the night.
Gert Strydom, 21 september 2015
On this early summer evening
On this early summer evening
outside the fish and chips shop I stop
caught by the serene colours in the sky
of the setting sun, the hues
of yellow and orange flowing into pink,
the clouds hanging white
somewhat like patterns
or connecting pieces of a puzzle
against the dark and light blue sky
with rays shining through
giving brilliance to them
as if falling in spotlights
or in broad bands at places
with the sun finally becoming
a small glowing ball
just here and there
appearing through open patches
of the now darker clouds and sky.
Gert Strydom, 18 september 2015
There is a kind of light in my darling’s eyes
There is a kind of light in my darling’s eyes,
a kind of deeper thing
that pierces everything in me
as if a bond between us
does lie in her golden eyes
and at times I would want it different
and do not want to tell her
about my deepest things
as that which is between us does expose me
so that she really does know me
and it makes my defencelessness great
so that she really do know what she means to me
as if every moment does confess my dependence of her
and as if I cannot explore the whole wide world without her.
Gert Strydom, 17 september 2015
In three weeks a great change has come
Joshua, the man that helps me with my garden
says that my garden this morning
is jumping around with joy
and is dancing around with beauty
as there is something in the early spring
that draws a person to want to sing.
In three weeks
a great change has come
after the last grip of the grim winter
has been expelled
by the hot sun
and the first rain of spring.
There are blue, yellow, brown, turmeric coloured,
purple and pink irises that are flowering,
everywhere there are white, purple, yellow and deep red daisies
and marguerites
and the scent of white jasmine is right through the garden.
Geraniums in red, orange, pink and white
and some with mixed colours
are flaunting more beautiful than the other
and violet and speckled pansies
and pink, orange, white and yellow gazanias,
white, red, yellow, pink and orange roses
are luring bees, butterflies, doves, weavers
and even starlings
to visit the garden.
Gert Strydom, 16 september 2015
When the lightning bolts of life
When the lightning bolts of life
with blue-white sparks does flashing resound around me
then you are the silence that goes to my inner core
and when the winter does stretch out biting fingers
then you are the one who around a fireplace
do share moments in passion
and every morning you are the golden rays of the sun
that brings new meaning
to the darkness of my life,
who like the Cape’s winter rain
do soak to the depths of my soul
and in my pain
you are however the one
who is the centre point of it,
who knows where to lash out
the most terrible blows.
Gert Strydom, 15 september 2015
When your eyes glow like two suns
When your eyes glow like two suns
that shines above the dome of the sky,
that does penetrate me
with every glance from you
then there is something that goes right through my emotions
and even when I feel impulsive
its as if your eyes are always following me in my thoughts,
as if next to me you do experience everything,
as if our bond will last eternally
but more probable its because I do miss you
and cannot comprehend a life without you.
Gert Strydom, 14 september 2015
When you did come
When you did come
the world had changed
and what was our home
with time was rearranged
but between us all was still the same
and even your face, your body and name.
Although for a time separate the world we did roam,
love was still of our feelings the sum
when you did come.
When you did come back to me
all of our promises and joy was full of sincerity
and about the heartaches I did not care anymore
as life did change and nothing was still the same
as it had been before
but our feelings and our love was still aflame
and for me more precious you had come to be
when you did come back to me.
Gert Strydom, 11 september 2015
Jesus Christ
He knows the precise wandering of stars,
of every planet in the universe,
have power and the insight to create
things from the nothingness
speaks of the beauty of love
and his whole life is filled
by personal sacrifice
and the virtue that He brings
that goes beyond human mysteries,
while He gives power to the weak,
talks about another kingdom
than that which the people
of his generation did seek,
but in Him everyone does see
the perfect love of a creator God,
of a sinless human being.
Gert Strydom, 10 september 2015
Words (2)
I thought that words
would draw you closer to me,
but words set us apart literary
in the real sense
and forever you and I
will never be coming together with words.
Words although magic
are always reaching out
to someone else,
as if you see
each and every poem
as competing against yours
and never do we bond
by the skill of words
and even the words written to you
carry their messages
but do not really hit the mark
as if I am only giving blank pages
with absent messages
and my writing more and more
does create less for you.
Gert Strydom, 10 september 2015
Words (in answer to Vincent Oliphant)
When I read in a great poem
that humanity lies beyond
the borders of life and culture
I saw the poet hope
as if peace
would suddenly come down from heaven
and I did wonder if it was possible
to remove the animal from man
who rather wants to tread down,
vituperate and steal?
I did become to realise
that the people in whom
the in dwelling of God does lack
are filled with darkness
and like barbarians they do believe
that violence is the last resort
and still it did not take the bullet
out of every firearm,
and still it did fail
to make anything else of the Panga blade
than a deadly killing thing
and the reality of the unknown robber
who sneaked around with a knife in the back of my yard,
my two cars that were stolen,
the loss of my work,
and affirmative action
does still threaten my life,
does force me down upon my knees
to pray to the omnipotent God.
[Reference: “Woorde” (Words) by Vincent Oliphant.]
Gert Strydom, 10 september 2015
When I heard the learned professor
When I heard the learned professor
lecturing in mathematics,
talking about parabolas,
about calculating some interesting things
like division approaching zero
and the limit applying to it
I saw you, your breasts
and my thoughts were led astray
trying to calculate the circumference,
the curves and shape of your breasts
and I was truly blessed
when you blushed and smiled back at me
and I thought about your perfect body,
a thing that only the creator God
had the ability to calculate and to construct.
Gert Strydom, 9 september 2015
The statue of uncle Paul
(after Toon van den Heever)
In the summer sun the great colossus rises
where paltry yet gigantic he still stands
with his eyes looking northwards
and his gaze sweeps right through veldt and bush.
Still he struggles on without being swayed
and his whole being is fierce and always true
as if nothing can stop that keen eyes
and his gaze sweeps right through veldt and bush
to find liberty whatever it does cost,
beyond him lies death that could not break a people,
it’s the hope of a free existence that is looking
and his gaze sweeps right through veldt and bush.
In the summer sun the great colossus rises
and his gaze sweeps right through veldt and bush.
[Reference: “Die beeld van oom Paul” (The statutue of uncle Paul) by Toon van den Heever. Poet’s note: The ANC Youth league is trying to remove this very statue.]
Gert Strydom, 8 september 2015
Twilight
(after N. P. van Wyk Louw)
Twilight, twilight
what are you bringing?
I wonder
while the rays of the sun do circle out wider.
There is a new excitement in me
as today is open and I feel free
as if life does hold new promises and possibilities
and maybe it’s the day that you will come.
[Reference: “Rooidag” (Dawn) by N.P. Van Wyk Louw.]
Gert Strydom, 7 september 2015
Time finds wings (A reply to Edward Thomas)
The day is unwilling to break open,
as slices like a orange,
unwilling to let me bite
into its centre, in to its deep core
and time finds wings,
passing ever passing
without me accomplishing
the things that I set out to do
to which I sometimes set my heart to
and I can hardly tell the distinction
between heaven and hell,
between good and bad
as emotions are on a rollercoaster
under the spell, attraction
of falling in love
where it is judged to be inappropriate
and happiness eludes, escapes me,
as well as beauty,
or what I find beautiful and lovely
and am I now harkening to small petty blessings
and have to be content with little things
as if the things that gives meaning to life
are reserved for someone else
and the sky, the veldt the world
of my own heart yearns for more
besides motion, hue and actions
that responsibilities draw,
I yearn for you, for your love
and the blessing of your tender caress.
[Reference: “The Glory” by Edward Thomas.]
Gert Strydom, 7 september 2015
Small blonde curly head
Where he walks happily in the garden
he watches a gecko big-eyed,
the entire world lies open before him,
his attention is attracted by ‘n big koi-fish
that watches him with large eyes from the pond,
he watches a gecko big-eyed
and he tries to touch the fish and the water is cool
while he catches a small frog
that watches him with large eyes from the pond,
he presses the small animal against his cheek
and it jumps from his hands
while he catches a small frog
and the fishes are circling the pond
when he picks up another frog
and it jumps from his hands
and he is splashed dripping wet.
Where he walks happily in the garden
when he picks up another frog
the entire world lies open before him.
Gert Strydom, 4 september 2015
A modern Bible story
When I am walking down Voortrekker road to buy a new car
I come upon an old man lying on the sidewalk
and he has been stripped of all of his possessions,
he groans and can barely say a word
and I do notice that he is from another race.
I come upon an old man lying on the sidewalk,
his glasses have been slapped from his face and his possessions are missing.
The new car is shining where it waits
and I do notice that he is from another race,
the pastor from the local church hoots drives past and is waving at me,
the poor man is barely aware of what is going on in the bad state that he is.
The new car is shining where it waits
but he lays wounded badly and is bleeding and knocked cold.
An elder drives slowly past a wounded man but suddenly speeds up,
the poor man is barely aware of what is going on in the bad state that he is
and humanity forces me to take care of the badly wounded man.
When I am walking down Voortrekker road to buy a new car
an elder drives slowly past a wounded man but suddenly speeds up
and he has been stripped of all of his possessions.
Gert Strydom, 3 september 2015
A man in the city
In the distance a church bell rings off the midnight hour
and where the night tries to fold her cloak around the city
I am lonely driving a motorcar
and streetlights, neon signs and traffic lights light up the roadway
but there is no darkness and everywhere around me its twilight grey,
a high apartment building is on fire
with fire-engines with flashing red lights that are rush to it
while a crowd of onlookers are watching the scene with interest
and here and there a couple that lives in it stands astonished
when in the distance the chimneys at a petroleum structure flame blue-white,
and I see the bright white fire of melting ovens
when I am tired and far pass fatigued
while I am busy driving back to my home in one of the suburbs
and now do not trust the tilting landscape, lights that rush pass
and nowhere there is a place of rest to be found.
Gert Strydom, 2 september 2015
With a view on the passing road
She walks to the porch
and she carries a basket full of pomegranates from the orchard
while the brown dog is running all around her,
at the step to the porch her husband greets her without a word
and a pomegranate falls so hard that the pips scatter
and she carries a basket full of pomegranates from the orchard,
she steps into the red juice that sticky blots the floor,
she barely hears his damn it
and a pomegranate falls so hard that the pips scatter,
and he says that she is incompetent and clumsy
but her gaze is on the road,
she barely hears his damn it
and she hopes that a shining new car will on a day take her away
and docile she bends to pick up the remains of the two fruit
but her gaze is on the road,
where she is setting her scope into the distance.
She walks to the porch
and docile she bends to pick up the remains of the two fruit
while the brown dog is running all around her.
Gert Strydom, 1 september 2015
If love is selfless
If love is selfless
without the meaning
of power-play or greed
but do exist out of the simple
taking and giving between two persons
and is not bound to time or pleasure
but comes unequal and does flower as something
is identified as coming purely from the heart
then its has got a bond that is more noble and holy
than any other thing.
Gert Strydom, 31 august 2015
Day of days
Such a day occurs, begin
when the flowers shower bees
and butterflies with sweet nectar
drawing them in,
in a celebration to spring
when the spring rain falls
with the sun shining bright
reflecting its light on every raindrop
and flowers, trees and grass
jump in length, growing as if by magic
when the yellow gooseberries are in fruit,
when every fruit tree bares to its capacity
and more than all of this,
when you are with me,
smiling as if your face is alight,
filled with its own hot rays, in a radiance
almost as bright a the sun,
when the sky is cobalt blue, or a darker hue,
when your eyes tell me that you are true
and the signs of love are everywhere
around me, around us
as if God Himself is walking on earth,
again treading among mere men
and all men act as each other’s brothers
and joy, happiness and sincerity
does blossom like the flowers.
Gert Strydom, 28 august 2015
In the depths of a grim winter (cavatina)
In the depths of a grim winter when life
felt desolate
there was a fluttering, a twittering
at the front gate
when chilly the wind rocked the big trees.
I could not wait
to go to look and see what made that sound
and a little redbreast sang to all around.
Gert Strydom, 27 august 2015
The Namaqua sand-grouse
(after T.T. Cloete)
When the Namaqua sand-grouse
does bring water to her children
she flies over the dunes of the desert to the river
where she jumps into the shallows
does whistle cheerfully
and splashes her breast, feathers, and fluff wet
before she carries water on her body
in her own kind of aerodynamics.
[Reference: “vleis” (“meat”) by T.T. Cloete.]
Gert Strydom, 26 august 2015
I wonder if time does exist outside our world?
I wonder if time does exist outside our world
or does the gear-work of the universe just go on and on
with a own kind of aloofness
that stands loose from all earthly things?
Gert Strydom, 25 august 2015
How can I want to say unheard things?
How can I want to say unheard things
when they lie outside the comprehension of most people?
Although simplicity comes with the naked truth
most people are disillusioned and astounded
when words and sentences flash with an own reality
and some thoughts they do turn over and over
and there are borders between people
and also a kind of darkness
that does disguise holy secret meaning
and people do wonder what I am really saying
when they cannot even grasp or feel the simplicity.
Gert Strydom, 24 august 2015
I want to shower you
I want to shower you
with all the love I have got
to make certain that you will forget me not
and when the time of old age does come
that you will be the one to whom I come home,
Gert Strydom, 23 august 2015
Petra
When a person visits the remains of the age-old city Petra
then you see steps that go up into the heights
and it does lie beautiful almost untouched as on a painting
but when you do at that place stand still for just a mere moment
and look at the city that was chopped from stone
you do notice a kind of curse
when you do look at the altars of a forbidding god
and then you do notice that everything in that city
is aimed at the sun,
that those tombs, temples and banquet halls
is in honour of the prince of darkness
and then a person does wonder why humanity does rebel
against a God that with compassionate love
does try to visit each person
and in silence Petra is still witnessing of its awful history,
of people sacrificing their children
to stop the vengeance of an evil god.
Gert Strydom, 21 august 2015
Tonight I did think of you
Tonight I did think of you
and outside the stars were faint,
a streetlight did shine lonely
and the smell of rain was on the dust,
in the distance a thunderbolt did roar
and suddenly it was
as if I did sink away in thoughts of us
but when you did come out of the bathroom
all other things were gone and it was only you and I,
your naked beauty did enthral me
when in that moment nothing else could stay with me
and now your are turning around and around in the bed
as if you cannot come to rest
until you are lying right up against me.
Gert Strydom, 20 august 2015
Somewhere in the African bush
The male lion leads the attack
and with help of each adult member of the group
they corner a female giraffe
against three thorny acacia trees
that grows together.
Nervously the giraffe jumps
and hooves flash past heads
while the giraffe is trying
to shake the male lion off.
More bodies hanging on,
the giraffe becomes heavy
and heavier still
and the added weight of the forth lion
pulls the giraffe down to the ground.
After ripping the giraffe open
and devouring as much as they can
the group of lions lay sleeping
in the shade of the acacia trees
while vultures, hyenas and a few jackals gather
around them at a safe distance.
Suddenly there is a commotion
and the male lion senses danger
while the vultures, hyenas and jackals scatter
and three younger adult male lions
come roaring out of the long grass
to challenge him
and in the blink of an eye the battle is lost
and death comes in the way
that life on the African plain is.
Gert Strydom, 19 august 2015
He did long for the presence of His Father
The crushing mob
did push closer and closer to Him
before He could go back to His Father
and they wanted to see an innocent good man suffering,
wanted to feel His blood on their fingers
when they roared: “crucify Him!”
And Pontius Pilate did try to wash off his own guilt
and their abomination from his hands
when suddenly the sun did go cold
and darkness did come to the earth
when the creator God did hang on a cross,
did long for the presence of His Father
and did carry the sin of all humanity
and the populace did wait on a wondrous sign to happen
while the curtain in the temple did tear right down
and God Himself did die as a mere sinner.
Gert Strydom, 18 august 2015
When I do think of you
When you were in my thoughts tonight
my heart could have jumped around with joy
or with the remembering
I could have drowned in a sea of tears
but between us there is more than just tears and sorrow
and now I want to think of you
with all of the longing and passion
that lies between a man and a woman.
Gert Strydom, 17 august 2015
Just the two of us
Your smile is the summer sun
and just as hot
as it shines at high noon
and your eyes do sparkle
the open blue sky
when for moments I am lost in them
and maybe are looking much deeper than I ought to
and I see a lifetime lying in their depths
when your lips do flame of aloe
and an unsaid moment hangs between us
and in that short time that lingers
it’s only the two of us in the whole universe.
Gert Strydom, 14 august 2015
I do fear that all love does come to an end
I do fear that all love does come to an end,
that for each piece of happiness there is oblivion
and the thought turns around and around in my head
as if each life is bound to a kind of darkness,
as if all things and people must go to naught
but then the realization comes
that the essence of love
goes much further than this earth,
that love hits with an own power and fullness.
Gert Strydom, 13 august 2015
The holy Bible asks
The holy Bible asks
who can come into the presence,
into the dwelling place of the omnipotent Lord God
and it’s no riddle that a person has got to solve
as it is clear that he who is sincere
will see the Lord.
Gert Strydom, 12 august 2015
Prayer of the bones III
Lord, the blood of the innocent trickles in the sand and clot
on the farms and in the cities of South Africa,
the beaker of the sorrows of Your people is running full
and I want to ask for deliverance and for much more than just mercy,
I am asking for Your peace and for true rest
as according to reports people are being murdered and robbed,
from the most distant northerly farm right up to the coast,
and some people flee and loose themselves under neon lights,
famous people are seen at objectionable places
while some people do pray to ancestral spirits and to rocks
and a future and a free life is much less than a maybe
as thousands have been buried with their shattered bones
and murdering shot after murdering shot is being fired
while people are begging and do wander through the land,
criminals do continually kill
and people do die without respect or mercy
It’s clear that a dark force is bringing evil over my people
and even at the church,
at government hospitals
crime and recklessness is being seen
and people do show signs to each other with their thumbs,
cellular phones and jewellery are being robbed with firearms
and factories are polluting the grey blue sky of the old Transvaal
while illegal shacks do stretch from hillock to hillock
and farmers are waited upon on Sundays and hunted down
from the Limpopo river to as far as flat Table Mountain
and at distant places and on farms robbers do strike at night
causing innocent people to die throughout the country
and passengers are threatened on train upon train
as if the police does not exist
while criminals use robbed medicine
to create their deadly drugs.
A politician tells naked lies and do excel in fraud
while robbers, criminals and murderers do never go to jail
and everyone that stands against these things is being seen as a rebel.
There are great abominations in the country like in the book Ezekiel,
people treat each other much worse than their animals,
some Afrikaners are rotten deeper than the core,
while black people dance naked to ancestral spirits in the veldt,
and a dark force is bringing its ungodly practices back.
Each criminal gang see themselves as soldiers,
some people are blindfolded against the walls of their own homes
and others dig holes for their own bodies
while most people are only searching for peace and a own life
and that You are going to intervene my Lord, is something that I do know
as like a David, I did also go through a valley of death
when communists wanted to destroy everything that is holy
and did suffer great losses against a much smaller army.
At the hand of foreigners Eugene Terreblance did die
and laws that oppress my own people are every day being seen
while municipal labourers do strike and rubbish heap up to the yard
and people without hope do visit dancing places and each and every bar
while those that do govern think that their dominance does last eternally
but you do notice the corruption that is being swept under the rosemary,
and You do see my scattered people and the bones of their struggle
as the Afrikaner does know humiliation, oppression, nemesis and pain
and thousands have being killed and lay in the grave
while the wind of abatement does blow continually and people do sob.
Lord, do hear the cries of them that are still following You
as some have become feasting places for the vulture and the crow.
and I pray for peace a place in the sun for everyone
from the rough back-veldt to each city,
and that Your bright light do splash down on the urban buildings of glass,
that everyone will reflect Your love, mercy and righteousness.
Gert Strydom, 11 august 2015
The wind blew on the beach
The wind blew on the beach
and our hands were each in each
while our hearts did beat like one
and all of our yesterdays were gone
but the new morning was just out of reach
while the moments lingered and slowly time moved on.
Gert Strydom, 10 august 2015
The Hands
The hands that hold all planets in the endless universe,
that control galaxies in stretched out space
is still busy building you, and me
is mightily folded around my insignificant life
and in nature time after time I see their work
as they are here close to fend off all kinds of catastrophe.
The thoughts out of which man and all animals did come,
that guides and controls all things from the time of creation
is still busy astounding me with intense love
and every man, animal and plant is still mended by that power
as continually that great mind is busy
and where all things do fail God is still working.
The Christ that no cat-o’-nine nails, nail or spear could keep in death
is continually providing my daily bread.
He is present in each daily stress, circumstance and distress
and the hart that trusts Him
does even in the years of old age find revival
and will rest in His soft omnipotent hands.
Gert Strydom, 7 august 2015
When I did search for the meaning of the word love
When I did search for the meaning of the word love
I could nowhere find an inclusive perfect definition
and yet I do know that it’s something that binds two persons,
that it’s something that is a kind of blessing or a curse
and the deeper I did investigate it the more I became aware
that it is something with the power to destroy
and disillusioned like a mere child I did realise
that each person is a character in God’s script
and when I did look deep in your eyes
I did see something moving in your heart
but even though sincere and fond a person can be
and even if those emotions did look like love
I did realise that love is decision of the will
without the impact of disillusionment or fear.
Gert Strydom, 6 august 2015
If I my God (Persian / Rubiyat sonnet)
If I my God, do observe Your heaven above me at night
there are white, green, yellow and blue stars that shine bright
and then for moments that linger I am astounded, and breathless
and I do wonder at Your great omnipotent might
and more in wonder I am by the knowledge that You do bless
each human being and that You do address
each problem and worry that does him befall
where by our own fall to sin we live in this great mess
that does encompass, our own world and all
that we do, that we feel and are, even if we are great or small
does bare great importance to You
even if we do not initially do hear or even regard Your call
and still You are present in whatever we do
to lead us back to the way that is good and true.
Latest comments:
28 april 2024
samoA
dziękuję. uśmiech posyłam
27 april 2024
Jaga
Bardzo, widać że dobrze mu z oka patrzy ;)
27 april 2024
On tak dostojnie chodzi, że to czysta przyjemność
27 april 2024
kb
hm tutaj pokazano niejako wprost sprawcę światła.
27 april 2024
sufit, uśmiech i barany... no tak to jest, sama
27 april 2024
"wszystkie modlitwy wymyślili grzesznicy"
27 april 2024
social-real. bardzo fajnie ujęte
26 april 2024
jeśli tylko
właśnie :)
26 april 2024
Adam Pietras (Barry Kant)
Dzięki, Violetta!
25 april 2024
violetta
Dziękuję:)
25 april 2024
Bociany są takie ufne:)
25 april 2024
Yaro
Bardzo kobiecy wiersz:) Pozdrawiam:)
28 april 2024
Jaga
28 april 2024
Satish Verma
27 april 2024
Jaga
27 april 2024
Satish Verma
26 april 2024
wiesiek
26 april 2024
Satish Verma
25 april 2024
wiesiek
25 april 2024
Satish Verma
24 april 2024
Satish Verma
23 april 2024
Adam Pietras (Barry Kant)