A Blues Sonnet for Jan
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Map of Southern Africa in 1899
*commonly a trading chest of goods; medicine chest of herbal remedies
†Muthi is a traditional medicine practice in Southern Africa as far north as Lake Tanganyika.
‡The name the Boer forces gave the British soldiers.
Poetic form: Blues Sonnet. Rhyme scheme: AAa BBb CCc DDd ee. Poetic licence re the metre to accommodate clarity in language and content. L11: Enhanced rhyme; L12: Trailing rhyme; L13 & 14: Assonance rhyme.
See my article for details:
Dandelion Sonnet - A Sonnet Variant | PoetrySoup.com
Event: Anglo-Boer War 1899–1902—Measles epidemic in the concentration camps.
In the voice of: Sannie Botha (a survivor).
Jan’s cough kept me awake all through the night.
The children are all coughing in the night;
the fevers gave us all a mighty fright.
The red, now itchy, spots on body parts;
“Oh! Son Jan, don’t you scratch the itchy parts,
as scabs and scars will follow just like warts.”
If only I had negosiekist* at hand.
The muthi† in friend's kist – her helping hand –
but mothers dug graves with bare hands in sand.
Now I might stop to shake my balled fist.
The Tommies‡ shake their riffles in tight fists;
they're no older than Jan when they enlisted.
The torment was breaking all of our hearts
and the fragile peace brokered, never lasts.
Copyright © Suzette Richards | Year Posted 2025
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