I
When Sidney died
I could have died
I could have cried
But fought to save my flat
African 'woonstel,' or 'apartment'
Under auction threat
By PRETOR, for "levies,"
Or security gate fees
Yet managed when I was overseas
By HUURKOR: getting off scott-free?
II
I promised not to write
(O, not for anger or spite)
I had paid due tribute
To F.W. de Klerk, Desmond Tutu
South African Nobel Laureates
Not when Sidney said farewell
I was tasting an iota of hell
But I needed to say something
Though I stopped identifying
As black ... when apartheid fell
Poitier still clings to part of me
As to all who celebrate humanity
Unexpected racial pride and strides
Knocks out more insidious apartheid
I
Good God, mine; hers -
title of old poem
posted 30 March 2017
South African loved it
Brought tears of faith
She loves the LORD
More than I know
I was thus (1990 )
Loving Beloved Triune God
II
This day South African
and fellow-poets commented
Oddly, no one else
A South African day
De Klerk passed away
Perhaps lost then found
In Politics in 1990
Released Nelson Mandela (1991)
Became a Peace Laureate
President, Fare Thee Well
III
What a coincidental day
We 3 South Africans talk
Poetry and Faith now
As our native land
Bids adieu, Irene, shalom
To President de Klerk