I, too, have tasted the evil of hatred
when all I wanted to share was my love.
With untruths and lies I was baited
because the hue of my skin wasn’t as white as the dove.
Mercilessly unloved and hated,
You may not believe it but it happened to me,
falsely accused in the name of Apartheid.
Emerging from darkness to light I can now see.
Striding a path from weakness to strength.
Praising the Lord, I seek justice not a fight
and peace over this land’s breadth;
I chose love over hate, justice and light.
We’ve reached a point,
As in 1861, when America
Is a nation divided,
But unlike then
It’s unlikely the current state
Of rebellion and silent coup
Will spill into a larger
Outright civil war
Mostly because it’s not a battle line
Drawn on geography
But instead on ideology,
And those ideologies aren’t about to change.
If anything the divide just widens
And solidifies with each passing year.
The effect is cultural apartheid
Separate media, schools, sports and entertainment
With of course, the resulting separate histories
To be lived and told
In separate lives and libraries
Until we live in a single united states
In name only.
(2/10/26)
We walked the lands our feet first knew
where sun carved stories into stone
where rivers whispered secrets of old
and stars counted the nights we called home.
They came with walls and laws and chains
told us our voices were too small
but the earth remembered our songs
and our hearts refused to fall.
We were shaken by fire and fear
our homes stolen, our names erased
yet in the shadow of every loss
our roots dug deeper into this place.
We rise in clicks and in whispers
in laughter, in dance, in stubborn flame
we were shaken, not beaten
our spirit forever untamed.
[Poet’s Note : this is a wry autobiographical memory written in traditional pirouette verse viz. 2 quintains, line 5 & 6 repeat, which is the toe turnaround. I wanted to write a narrative of a weird syncopated vignette, when I was knitting a pink mohair jersey at the time of my imprisonment. I reduced the narrative to a pirouette. When in prison, one of my interrogators was knitting the EXACT jersey in the exact colour & exact wool ! ie. in the final analysis, (in retrospect) everything in human life can be reduced to a pirouette, a turn-around dance ! ]
knitting a pink jersey
mohair with cables fine
to process flying thoughts
political activist
south africa turmoiled
south africa turmoiled
security police
came with casspirs and cuffs
interrogation chamber
police knit jersey pink
~~~~~~~~~
Some in Israel feel they’re quite grand
Only they can hear god’s command
They often recite
Commandments at night
Yet kill and steal Palestine's land
Palestinian piazza
Includes the West Bank and Gaza
Israel's ethnic purge
Might let these sites merge
At fine hotels like the Plaza!
they kill 1200 in rage
you kill 200.000 for what
to show you are just
They reside on the other side.
They bathe in fertility.
They own yard-keepers and servants;
Dogs, cats and charming plants.
They breathe the camphorated air like us,
Swallow the transparent dust,
Cross over and fall in the muddy rivers
Like our siblings living under the tiny tents.
They reside on the other side of town,
Over the mountains.
They bathe in tranquil fertility
Of the country-side.
They ignore that we are the same
And that we experience daily the same dilemmas.
One day, them and us, all of us will answer
Present deep in the river, under the karmic bridge.
P.S. This poem was originally written during my college years. Nelson Mandela was still illegally and wrongfully jailed, spending (wasting) 27 years of his heroic and precious life unjustly incarcerated. Mr. Nelson Mandela and my African brothers and sisters are the sources of my inspiration.
Copyright © circa May 1984 Hébert Logerie, All rights reserved
Hébert Logerie is the author of several books of poetry.
Race oftentimes
Cause distinction
And prejudice.
If one was to poll Americans nation wide
and ask them if they supported apartheid.
Most would defiantly deny and say,
but their our allies..
If we asked most Americans do we need a
wall, to bar people of color from coming here at all?
Should we only let in those that resemble our kin
regardless of the circumstances they are in?
Would we crowd them in ghettos where resources
were lacking but have our government keep on taxing?
What if we made them carry id cards, to police their
travels, and from areas we barred?
If we ask most Americans with our national sense
of pride, why are we still complicit in this Gaze an genocide?
Thank you God
That I’m always a student
I abhor
The slaughters of the babies
Toddlers were killed dead
Young boys and girls were shot dead
Pregnant women were stabbed dead
That’s terror
Young men were executed
Young women were raped and killed
That’s horror
Women weren’t spared
Sick women were beat
Old men and women
Weren’t exempt
No error
Fuhrer is alive
Terrorism
Is not dead
Students have conscience
Leaders lie
The buildings are pulverized
Treaties ain’t for all
Blame a few
Murder is no joke
That’s death
True free speech
Is dead too
Students have conscience
They are always right
They make sense
They protest
No justice
Here on earth
No freedom
We wonder
We ponder
We differ
They conquer
Like wild beasts
There’s no peace
Terror, horror and revenge
I remain an alumnus.
Copyright © April 2024, Hébert Logerie, All rights reserved.
Hébert Logerie is the author of several collections of poems.
All I want is world peace
In the west, in the east
In the north and the south
To close your mouth
When you're happy
To stop the misery
During the passage
We only need one page
To express our feelings and pain
All we need is PEACE. We die in vain
Every single day
Yes, we need to pray
More and more often
So we can go to heaven
When we die
This is no lie
We can smell a new year
Let's start a new prayer
All we want is to have peace
On top of the list
All we need is PEACE
And to leave this earth in one piece
While having a glitzy feast.
Copyright © December 2018, Hébert Logerie, All rights reserved
Hébert Logerie is the author of several books of poetry
You bombed, bombed
Now you airdrop aids
You killed, killed
God’s children
Pregnant moms
Innocent women
Poor toddlers
Weak boys and sick men
No reason
You poisoned water
You robbed, robbed
Now you want
To give sweet ice cream
To children
You are crazy
You are sick
How naughty
What a shame
How nauseating
The world is at war
This is sickening
Hypocrites
You are, yes you are
You bombed, bombed
You killed, killed
The world is at war
Humanitarian
Food, bombs and missiles.
Copyright © March 2024, Hébert Logerie, All rights reserved
Hébert Logerie is the author of several collections of poems.
This is war
Babies just got killed
No justice
For the innocents
Deadly bombs
Blood throughout the streets
Criminals
Are ubiquitous
Poor babies
Are executed
What a shame
The truth is handcuffed
Yet, we want
Everlasting peace
North and South
No justice
West and East
There’s no peace
And yes, no justice
Bloody streets
Civilians are killed
No cease fire
Stop the injustice
The devils
Are roaming the streets
Bombardments
Are ubiquitous
Where is God
In this brouhaha?
Stop fooling
The whole universe
Stop the lies
No democracy
It doesn’t rhyme
With evil
But hypocrisy
Does not rhyme
Either with Hell
Stolen land
Is not an award
A reward
Is complicated
We want
Everlasting peace
By no means.
Copyright© January, 2024, Hebert Logerie, All Rights Reserved
Hébert Logerie is the author of several poetry books.
They reside on the other side of the city
They bathe in the quiet and still fertility
They own yard-keepers and docile servants
Dogs, cats, hyenas and precious plants.
They breathe the camphorated air like us
Swallow the transparent and abominable dust
Cross over and fall in the muddy rivers like saints
Like our siblings living under the tiny tents.
They reside on the other side of the old towns
Over the mountains, not too far from the plains
They bathe in tranquil fertility
Of the country-side, not too far from the city.
They ignore that we are the same, the same formulas
And that we live and endure daily the same dilemmas
And one day, them and us, all of us will answer
Present in the river, under the bridge of forever.
Copyright © September 1982, Hébert Logerie, All rights reserved
Hébert Logerie is the author of several collections of poems.
South Africa is the first
Place in Africa where you can find more Excellent
Roads , rail ways , ports and Airports than some
European, Asian, American, Oceania countries
And more best world wine companies.
During apartheid many black people where living
In locations, treated as foreigners in their Country
No black person occupied the presidency or
Governor offices in Apartheid regime.
Happy day was when Mandela won the Election
And became the first black president ; many black
People felt free to visit different provinces and
Places where they were not allowed to walk in
Individuals or come closer without their white bosses.
Nelson Mandela remains the well respected Hero in
Europe and Africa because he forgave some white
South African criminals & promoted "Rainbow Nation"
So that majority of black people could easy their
chronic pains and becoming happy.
March 18/2023
Written for poetry contest sponsored by Anoucheka Gangabissoon
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