It took eight parades to say goodbye
It took eight parades to say goodbye
and there were fighters in the sky
and we wore battle clothes
and drove our armour
through the streets
and saluted every time,
that he stood with his hat
clenched to his chest.
We marched with a military band
and everyone had step outs on
and as we passed
the man in the dark suit,
rifles swung up high
to a generals salute
in order to say goodbye
to the commander in chief.
I remember him waiting with his arm
on his chest
and hat pressed there,
while we crossed the border
back from war
and there was something
on his face;
when I saluted
as the Ratel IFV drove past.
[Reference: Ratel IFV=> Ratel Infantry Fighting Vehicle.]
poem by Gert Strydom
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The Captain
It’s the third day of the battle
and around us there are enemy tanks
of which the canons keep clapping
and Stalin organ rockets
that falls at places among our men.
Next to me there’s a Captain
with a three day old beard
and his eyes is red of tiredness
while he gives instructions
over the radio.
We shoot till darkness
and through the night
and thunder clap flashes
keep on shooting
the enemy out.
The morning dawns
and the sun rises over the battlefield,
that is soundless and grim
and like two ghosts
we walk around in the bushes.
He wipes dust from his face
while we drive further
through the bushes
and we look out
from the top of the Ratel IFV
and in the distance,
a single rifle shot resounds
and the Captain is dead.
[Reference: Ratel IFV=> Ratel Infantry Fighting Vehicle]
poem by Gert Strydom
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A statesman: then and now
He stands on the podium
with his hat
in his hand
pressed against his chest
on the border with Angola
in his country
(as he still rules
over South West Africa)
and his bare head shines
under the bright Africa sun
where he himself was born
and Ratel armoured cars,
tanks, rocket launchers
and artillery drive past in convoys
back from Angola
to get a salute from him.
He stands like a giant
alone against dark Africa
will nuclear devices
waiting ready in bombs
and missiles
for ballistic purposes
are being manufactured.
Later lump after lump
of sand
falls down in his grave
while a lost journalist
runs for photos around it
and he doesn’t any more know
what is happening
in his own country
and about thunderbolts
that falls from everywhere
on his people
and rumble ominous
above his grave,
not even about water flowing
above him in a rain stream
and every sunrise
that without equal
unfolds above him
and worms gnawing
patiently on his body
since every thing
fades for him to nothing.
poem by Gert Strydom
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Carrion
a Enemy soldier lies motionless
and his limbs are twisted,
reaching for the last
energy of live
and a hand still holds a gun.
Blood and guts
are splattered about,
where a mortar bomb
hit home
and some flies gather.
The strong sulphur smell
mixed with fried human
burns my nose,
where smoke rises
from a shot out
enemy battle tank.
Another tank stand moveless
with its barrel
still aiming somewhere
and the remains
of its occupants hatched inside.
About a hundred Cuban tanks
and twice that much
enemy armoured cars,
stand lifeless in the African bush.
The battle scene is a graveyard
and my Ratel tank destroyer drives past,
to cross the Lomba river.
Before nightfall I fight
the darkness of my soul
and struggle with God
and to this day,
still no one can answer why.
[References: => Ratel tank destroyer=>Ratel ZT-3 (the anti-tank guided missile version) . Reference are given here to the “battle for Africa, ” fought by 61 South African mechanized battalion group and 32 South African battalion group against four brigades of the Soviet-led FAPLA forces (the 47th,59th,16th and 21st brigades) in Angola in August 1987.]
poem by Gert Strydom
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Forever young
I saw boys driving away to war
in a Ratel-90 armoured car
and they were well trained,
ready for action
and called up for military service
against their will.
Two smiled and a few
waved goodbye
and there was dirt
in my eyes,
when my armoured car
caught speed.
Enemy battle tanks were everywhere
and we fought right through the night
and with first light
an armoured car was stuck
in a mine field
and they were hoping for the best
but the worst was there
and shot out they paid the cost.
Although the enemy
paid a much higher price
and lost,
it’s like yesterday that they
waved goodbye
and sacrificed in vain
their lives for people
that does not honour them
and remain forever young.
poem by Gert Strydom
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Drumbeat Of War
The Drum Beat of War.
Smoke came from the mountain pass troops marched to the border,
general mobilizing declared, the old spoke of wars of yore the young
stopped slouching and looked around for the enemy. Ministers and
king wore uniform, laws were passed against a fifth columnists and
against anyone who had a different opinion than the norm; although
many were arrested no one was tried. War cry had brought order from
the chaos of democratic peace.
The jingoistic fever lasted all summer a good time for marching and
military parades, women wore flowers in their hair ready to kiss loved
ones goodbye. Fall rain, the north-westerly blew cold and war didn’t
happen, leaders congratulated themselves for winning the peace, and as
big snowflakes slowly fell so did our realisation that we open eyed had
marched into an open prison and could no longer travel anywhere, in
our country, without a passport.
poem by Oskar Hansen
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The road ahead dissolved into dust
The road ahead dissolved into dust
and we could not see the track
nor any of the other fighting vehicles
consisting out of Olifant main battle tanks
and Ratel armoured cars that were ahead of us.
Bushes were covering the veldt
on all sides and around us,
the early morning fog
had drifted over from the river
and worse still tried to cover things
and in the distance I heard the cannon
of a enemy tank blasting off a projectile
and almost felt the impact hitting us,
but it shrieked past
and at speed we left the track
rammed through some bushes
and the Ratel-90 armoured car
draw to a halt
and our return shot
found its mark
and we had to take another one
to make dead sure
of the destruction
of the Russian manufactured T-55 tank
before speeding away
trying to avoid being hit
and found another target
and one more and another after that
and later even filling the night
with bright flashing canon flame,
sending death out with projectiles
to whichever enemy that we found.
poem by Gert Strydom
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The night is full of brown Ratel armoured cars
The night is full of brown Ratel armoured cars
and Olifant tanks
that drives and rolls in on the ground
and salvos from rocket launching trucks
that draws arcs
and in the distance howitzer canon reports
in volleys
and when a light flare suddenly falls
it is as if the bushes are teeming
with enemy tanks and armoured cars
just where I look
and it looks
like the day of judgement.
Projectiles find their targets
and canister-shot comes down exploding thundering
and it’s an apocalyptic night
for some of the enemy
who are burning,
scorched and blown to smithereens in their armour
and when a tank
suddenly appears out of the bushes
there is a hell of a red thunderclap
as a shot from another Ratel hits it deadly
and I realize that even here
a person’s time is measured out
and around me there are fireworks
like stars falling from the sky
while we stop and aim
the following killing shot.
poem by Gert Strydom
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Ill Never Say Good-bye
I couldnt believe it the day that you left
Cleaned out your closet, cleared off your shelves
Loaded your car and you drove out of sight
But I never said goodbye
Ill never say goodbye
The doors always open, I leave on a light
Im always waiting in case you drop by
Ill never say goodbye
People have told me you have a new love
My hearts not willing to give up on us
Ive convinced myself theyre just telling me lies
And Ill never say goodbye
Ill never say goodbye
The doors always open, I leave on a light
I never wanted you out of my life
And Ill never say goodbye
Ill never say goodbye
The doors always open, I leave on a light
Ill be loving you till the day that I die
And Ill never say goodbye
If youll just come back, I wont even ask why
Ill never say goodbye, no Ill never say goodbye
song performed by by Dolly Parton
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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My GI Jane II
From the start you big eyes
looked right through me
and your glance
stirred the strings of my heart,
gave me shivers and only you
were in my head
while I read love and passion
in your eyes
and you made Luhatla wonderful for me.
That exceptional hell of a place
suddenly became special
and the exercising in
(before going to war in Angola)
had already become a pattern
and I couldn’t wait
to be with you
and time was only much too short
and days past much too quickly.
Then the morning came that had to be
and I saw courage and something valiant
in your eyes.
How bright the Luhatla sun shone
when the farewell came
and I drove away in my Ratel armoured car
and you had to stay behind.
poem by Gert Strydom
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To the border
When I got in at the train door
there were tears glittering in your eyes
and through the open window
we kissed again,
your hands clenched mine,
your image was burnt into my soul
and how you waved
while we pulled away around a corner,
but when projectiles exploded in other armoured cars,
the canon of the Ratel hit with deadly force,
I smelled my own sweat and fear
and I could only see how death looks
and I looked into the abyss.
I were another person without a soul
and you disappeared out of my thoughts
into the naught
and you were wiped out
as if you were in another world,
in another life
and still I stayed
loving you
and the best part of me
was still with you.
[Reference: Na die front by Ernst van Heerden.]
poem by Gert Strydom
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Hello, Goodbye
You say yes, i say no.
You say stop and i say go go go, oh no.
You say goodbye and i say hello
Hello hello
I don't know why you say goodbye, i say hello
Hello hello
I don't know why you say goodbye, i say hello.
I say high, you say low.
You say why and i say i don't know, oh no.
You say goodbye and i say hello
Hello goodbye hello goodbye hello hello
Hello goodbye i don't know why you say goodbye, i say hello
Hello goodbye hello goodbye hello hello
Hello goodbye i don't know why you say goodbye
Hello goodbye i say goodbye.
Why why why why why why do you say goodbye goodbye, oh no?
You say goodbye and i say hello
Hello hello
I don't know why you say goodbye, i say hello
Hello hello
I don't know why you say goodbye, i say hello.
You say yes i say yes i say no but i may mean no.
You say stop i can stay and i say go go go till it's time to go oh, oh no.
You say goodbye and i say hello
Hello hello
I don't know why you say goodbye, i say hello
Hello hello
I don't know why you say goodbye, i say goodbye
Hello hello
I don't know why you say goodbye, i say hello hello.
Hela heba helloa cha cha, hela...
song performed by by Beatles
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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I saw men
I saw men wetting their pants
when the first bullets fly past them
in their first contact with the enemy
and I saw men,
shot out of their military boots
and lying broken and covered with blood.
I saw men burnt to ashes
by white phosphorous
in a shot out Ratel IFV
and I saw men
left limbless by landmines.
I saw men making the best
of what life dealt them
and fighting to survive
against the odds
and gaining victory,
against a outnumbering foe
and still believing the old lie:
Dulce et decorum est
pro patria mori
[References: Dulce et decorum est by Wilfred Owen. Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori.=> 'It is sweet and right to die for the homeland”]
poem by Gert Strydom
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Night after Night
Night after night
I lay here night after night
I lay here as the rain pours or when the sun shines
I lay here as the weather gets colder, or when it’s summer
I lay here as the leaves change their colors, or when the snow covers
I lay here in my memories
I lay here wondering how long has it been since I passed by
I wonder how long since it has made you cry
I remember waking up to the darkness
I remember being put down inside where it was cold inside
Wondering why did I let life pass me by
I remember hearing the clock ticked my life away
I remember no one crying over me
I remember never saying goodbye
I remember wanting you to say I am sorry
I remember wanting you there by my side
I remember waiting to hear your voice one last time
As I lay there, as one by one my family, and friends comes to say goodbye one last time
I remember crying how you could not say goodbye
So night after night I lay here waiting
For you to come and say I am sorry or at least tell me goodbye
So I was not perfect, I had my flaws
But last I heard I was your every thing
So I guess I was wrong
poem by Jenna Kelley
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Never Can Say Goodbye
I never can say goodbye
No, no, no i, I never can say goodbye
Every time I think Ive had enough
And start heading for the door
Theres a very strange vibration
Kissing me right to the core or pericing me right to the core
It says turn around you fool,
You know you love him more
And more
Tell me why is it so?
Dont wanna let you go
I never can say goodbye boy
Ooh ooh baby I never can say goodbye
No no no no no no
Ooh hey I never can say goodbye, boy
Ooh ooh baby
I never can say goodbye
[no no no no no no] hey
I never can say goodbye [never say goodbye, boy]
Oh no, no, no i, I never can say goodbye
[never say goodbye, boy]
I keep thinking that our problems soon are all gonna work
Out
But theres that same unhappy feeling,
Theres that anguish, theres that doubt
Its that same old dizzy hangup
I cant do with you or without or youve had with you all your life
Tell me why is it so? I dont wanna let you go
I never can say goodbye boy, ooh baby
I never can say goodbye, no no no no no no
Hey I never can say goodbye boy,ooh baby
I never can say goodbye, no no no no no no
I never can say goodbye, boy,
I never can say goodbye, no no no no no no
I never can say goodbye, boy
I never can say goodbye, no no no no no no
[never can say goodbye, boy]
[never can say goodbye, boy]
I never can say goodbye, boy
I never can say goodbye, no no no no no no
I never can say goodbye, boy
I never can say goodbye, no no no no no no
Ooh ooh ooh hey I never can say goodbye, boy
No no no baby hey never can say goodbye
No no no no please, dont make me say goodbye
Hey I will never say goodbye, no baby
Oh please dont leave me, no no no no
Hey oh I cant say goodbye, boy
No no no baby
Oh please dont oooh, baby
song performed by by Gloria Gaynor
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The beret must have been a dead give away
To this day I know that
the beret must have been
a dead give away,
and the shoulder flashes
also proclaimed something
of the military unit that I belonged to.
Tired and almost asleep on my feet
after the long military flight
out of the war zone,
the soft rain smelled
fresh and it was cold
where I hiked
the last stint home.
Fourteen days leave
came as a real blessing
and just being away
and back in the states
was really great
A Brand new blue BMW
stopped next to me
and the occupants were
very friendly
and it was warm inside the car.
It looked like a mom and dad
and beautiful eighteen-year old daughter,
but they were foreigners
and introduced themselves as American.
The girl really liked me
and their accents were all American,
but something was just not right
and I couldn’t put my finger on it
and just maybe they were just a little too much
into being Americans.
The man remarked that he find it curious
for a officer to be hiking
and I thought that NATO probably
had similar ranks
and I explained that my
camp was away in the war zone
and that there was no way
to take my motorbike
all the way there.
The woman was driving
and the man frowned
at the bars and badges
on the chest of my bush jacket,
as if the combination of them
did not make sense to him.
It’s another thing to be seconded
to different units
and to complete some
of their training
and I realised that for Americans,
they probably knew
a little to much about our army
and were most probably
intelligence for the enemy.
The girl treated me like a hero
and wanted to know
about my unit
and somewhere questions
about unit strengths
and targetable distances
crept into the conversation,
but I steered the conversation
in to another direction.
The man wanted to know
if we were really going to win the war
when the enemy use heavy armour
and I said that we would win
against any thing that they bring
and it would be better for everyone
if the Cubans just packed up
and went back home
and the man laughed at me doubtfully.
Maybe there was something prophetic
in those words
as was proved at the Cuito Cuanavale battle
and I told them how
my ancestors in a twenty thousand strong
Boer farmer citizen force army,
had subdued a British army of
four hundred and fifty thousand
for three years long.
Little did they know
that my words said much more
and that Ratel-90 crews
used the same tactics
of fast movement
and accurate shooting
and great bravery
in dealing with enemy tanks.
There’s something very brave
to stop dead still
with a Ratel armoured car
to stabilize the gun
to be able to get the shot off
while a enemy tank
that can shoot while it moves
is charging towards you,
but that piece of information
never came out.
[References: The Battle of Cuito Cuanavale “The results of the campaign up to April 1988 were 4,785 killed on the Cuban/Faplan side, with 94 tanks and hundreds of combat vehicles destroyed, against 31 South Africans killed in action,3 tanks destroyed (SADF tanks entered the war after the Lomba River campaign) and 11 SADF armoured cars and troop carriers lost. A total of 9 Migs were destroyed and only 1 SAAF Mirage shot down.” Jannie Geldenhuys.1994: At the front: 240 Johanathan Ball Publishers. The states=> Back home in South Africa. NATO North Atlantic treaty organization.]
poem by Gert Strydom
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One night I dream
One night I dream
about ratel armoured cars
that looks different
and are almost as impenetrable
as American tanks
and can shoot accurately further
than G-6 howitzers while moving
and can drive right through
landmine fields
and we are fighting
in a enemy territory
There are enemy weapons
burning everywhere
and their aeroplanes
are grounded in rows
and when we win
I have already for a time
being wishing for it to end
as I am fed up with war,
killing and people that suffer
but this dream
and many others
that really happened
stays with me.
poem by Gert Strydom
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Theres No Goodbye
Made up my mind to say goodbye,
Went to the park for the last time.
But when I saw your eyes,
I knew for the first time,
That theres no goodbye between us.
Theres no goodbye,
Theres no goodbye,
Theres no goodbye between us.
If one day we slip away,
And that may be in the cards,
We will know deep in our hearts
That theres no goodbye between us.
Theres no goodbye,
Theres no goodbye,
Theres no goodbye between us.
Theres no goodbye,
Theres no goodbye,
Theres no goodbye between us.
song performed by by Yoko Ono
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Goodbye
(steve earle)
I remember holdin on to you
All them long and lonely nights I put you through
Somewhere in there Im sure I made you cry
But I cant remember if we said goodbye
But I recall all of them nights down in mexico
One place I may never go in my life again
Was I just off somewhere or just too high
But I cant remember if we said goodbye
I only miss you every now and then
Like the soft breeze blowin up from the caribbean
Most novembers I break down and cry
Cause I cant remember if we said goodbye
But I recall all of them nights down in mexico
One place I will never go in my life again
Was I just off somewhere or just too high
But I cant remember if we said goodbye
No I cant remember if we said goodbye
Goodbye goodbye
song performed by by Emmylou Harris
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Goodbye
Before i fly and wave goodbye
I say to you "days with you are the best years of my life"
But if i don't see you anymore
Keep my words safely stored
And i'll be back i promise once more
Chorus:
Goodbye, goodbye
Till i see you again
Goodbye, goodbye
I'll love and i'll miss you till then
Remember me 'cause i care
Where you are and how you fare
Get in touch if the wind blows in your face
I guess it's been too much fun
We've shared and we've won
Yes the best is yet to come
Repeat chorus
That one word hurts so bad
You leave the best you've had
But you keep the faith and pray to return
Goodbye, goodbye
I'll love and i'll miss you till then
Goodbye, goodbye
Goodbye, goodbye
(c) 1990 maypop music (a division of wildcountry, inc.) (bmi). all rights reserved.
song performed by by Alabama
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Painless
i met you in the kitchen
you said you needed to talk to me
you said you felt like those dirty dishes
it was about time you came clean
the first few words jsut seemed to roll on past
then it felt like you handed me a me a fist full of broken glass
and said "take that"
painless like rain rolling off your shoulder
you made it look so painless
didnt blink in eye when you ran me over
and maybe you were waiting to cry
cause baby when you said goodbye
you made it look so painless
stood out in the drive way
headlights fading down the street
like you just left ur cigarettes
you werent really leaving me
the cold wind hit me in the chest
the tornados gone and there aint nothing left
but this heart will miss
painless like rain rolling off your shoulder
you made it look so painless
didnt blink an eye when you ran me over
and maybe you were waiting to cry
cause baby when you said goodbye
you made it look so painless
painless
didnt blink an eye when you ran me over
and amybe you were waiting to cry
cause baby when you said goodbye
you made it look so painless
song performed by by Lee Ann Womack
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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