The day they robbed my car (englyn cyrch) (in answer to Don Mattera)
On high the sun did witness
with a kind of aloofness
how black men robbed my car;
but by far in lawlessness.
[Reference: “The Day they came for our house” by Don Mattera.]
poem by Gert Strydom
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Home invasion (englyn milwr) (in answer to Don Mattera)
Armed with small guns they came,
to me looked all the same,
then wanted to know my name.
[Reference: “The Day they came for our house” by Don Mattera.]
poem by Gert Strydom
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Submission (in answer to Don Mattera)
I have seen a white old man and woman
turned onto the street,
living in cardboard boxes
with their small white dog
in the new disastrous improved South Africa,
I have seen white people taking their own lives
when black mine owners robbed them of salaries
and there was no job to get,
no living to be made
and they did this
instead of starting to beg.
I have seen white men and women
with university degrees
leaving the country
in numbers that are more than a million
to find a place to have a life
somewhere else in a foreign country,
I have waited for more than a hour queuing
at a local bank to make a cash deposit,
as a payment to someone
and the way that things are going,
with the black economic empowerment
and people not up to doing a simple job,
soon all of private industry
will be falling apart
as the government departments are doing.
I have noticed friends and family members
who were robbed, hijacked in their vehicles,
raped, tortured and killed
while the South African Police
did their very best to make a arrest
and like in all other things
are not up to it.
I know people who live in despair,
who are totally without hope
while the country’s borders
are flung wide open
to the rest of Africa
to first have a chance at a job
and their degrees and experience
in the face of this means nothing
but not one does bend
under the black heel to submission,
at the mercy of God
their lives go on…
[Reference: “Submission” by Don Mattera.]
poem by Gert Strydom
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On The End Of The World (Cavatina Sequence)
(after Archibald MacLeish)
Behind the scenes they act, while on the stage
life is a dance
and we fall for the show and laugh and play
in romance,
as in quick-time we are very smitten,
are in a trance
as some Bee-bee Bob the clown laughs and cries;
men go off to war to kill and some dies
and then still lurking are unseen beings,
in sheer darkness;
they poise, do mislead and cover their tracks,
with great aloofness
they turn all beliefs in nothing at all,
bring lawlessness,
try to drag most of humanity down
to wait on great disaster as their own.
[Reference: 'The End of the World' by Archibald MacLeish.]
poem by Gert Strydom
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I saw a man (in answer to Don Mattera)
I saw a man, whose life had been affirmed,
by the new black government,
who was constantly job hunting
and getting nothing.
He was utterly lonely on the street,
could not afford even to buy bread or milk,
nor to pay for a place to sleep
and while he was barely staying alive,
there was no way to even date a girlfriend,
even to have one
and you talk about lonely people,
about a sea of tears?
[Reference: “I saw a man” by Don Mattera.]
poem by Gert Strydom
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The Black House On The Corner
I passed by that house everday,
wondering what lurked inside of it,
was their some kind of ancient evil inside,
or a normal family that we never saw,
a house of macarbe,
it was painted black like the devil's sin,
it was surrouned by devilish-looking,
figures that stood outside on the line,
was also surrounded by a black pointed fence,
rumors of the devil himself living there,
the devil in the flesh,
satan living on my street corner,
The black house on the corner,
can't you see it,
you must walk past it everyday to,
dosen't your mind wander,
when you walk by The black house,
don't you to know what lays inside of the house,
maybe a ton of dead bodies under the floor boards,
a madman butcherd up his family,
could that be true,
or are our young minds racing again,
with impure and insane thoughts about,
who or what lives in the black house on the corner,
the black house,
painted with the devil's sin,
We were told to stay away from the black house,
that so many evils lived inside of it,
but us being kids we didn't want to live,
we wanted to see what was inside of the black house on the corner,
But we are to afraid to go forward,
we are to afraid to step through the gate,
and walk up the beaten path to the door bell,
it looks so old and so evil,
The black house on the corner,
we shall never know what evilness,
or what macabre force resides within,
the black house on the corner,
whatever you do,
don't go into the black house on the corner,
stay away from,
the black house on the corner,
it holds so many evils,
the black house on the corner,
poem by Robert Rumery
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Homelessness
There is homelessness
In ungodliness
So much mindlessness
To this kind of indifference
There is no reference
To my homelessness
This restlessness
To nothingness
This unholiness
There is no reference
There is no address
To this kind of unwholesomeness
There is nothing found
Only something lost.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
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I am tossed into a wretched life
(after John Clare)
I am tossed into a wretched life
where all my friends have forsaken me
and you whom I loved are only found in memory
while senses and sensibility is all at strive
and yet in this nothingness I am still alive,
but from hardship I am never free
and its only darkness that around me I see
but once you were my beloved wife
and now all my aims and esteems
are shattered, broken to pieces,
even our love, our joy and happiness
are swept away like broken dreams
while the darkness, the destruction increases
and people treat me with a kind of aloofness.
[Reference: “I am – yet what I am none cares or knows” by John Clare.]
poem by Gert Strydom
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To her who once loved me
(after Percy Bysshe Shelley)
Princess, why did you call me
with longing in your voice,
but when you wanted to be free,
did not leave me another choice?
In some of your writings that to me you address
you speak of passed bliss
there are tears and sheer unhappiness
and it’s as if you are yearning for another kiss?
It is now running to years
that I have to live with emptiness
and I am brave beyond any fears
but I am viewing any friendship with a kind of aloofness.
Keep from sending love and promises that have to be made,
if your love like the stars at break of day is soon to fade.
[Reference: “To Emilia Viviani” by Percy Bysshe Shelley.]
poem by Gert Strydom
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Let us dream about a new world
Halt the job and racial preservation,
forcing people in and out of a nation
into a unknown culture
and let the distinction by made by merit
or once again the later population
will inherit a world full of discrimination
and later on another war
and let us pack away uniforms, old memories,
party political slogans and songs
and forget all the past wrongs
and dream of a new world
of a country fair and free
a country with jobs
and opportunities for everybody.
[Reference: Let the children decide by Don Mattera.]
poem by Gert Strydom
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Witness
I saw an ant devour sherman mountain.
Slip across the floor in the river of honey.
I saw the locust drinking from a fountain.
It smiled at me as I paid my money.
Chorus
Caus Im a witness, witness, see the writing on the wall.
Im a witness, witness, I say Ive seen it all.
Caus Im a witness, witness, Ive got all the proof.
Im a witness, witness, I swear to tell the truth.
I saw her buying in the face of fashion.
Wholl believe with her little white lies.
I saw her arrive on my bed of passion.
But I never saw a look of love in her eyes.
Chorus
Some days my eyes can see for miles and miles around.
Some nights my dreams just take me deep underground.
My minds a time machine, Im in the future and the past.
The past... scrape away...
(violin solo)
Chorus
Chorus
Witness, witness, witness
Witness, witness, witness
Witness, witness, witness
Witness, witness, witness
song performed by by Electric Light Orchestra
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Please Tell Me, If You Ever Know...
who robbed us of the days
we laughed with childlike mirth?
who robbed us of the days
when vibrations flowed between us
like milk and curds in their
purest form that little krishna
filled his tummy with?
who robbed us of the days
we danced and sang on unknown
river banks competing against
wind water and amusing little ripples
set in those crystalline waters?
who robbed us of the days
we built any number of castles
by the mighty seas and swayed
to the rhythm of the waves?
who robbed us of
the air that giggled in glee?
who robbed us of
the days of milky moonlight?
who robbed us of
the first showers of monsoon?
who robbed us of
the days of peacok feathers?
who robbed us, dear friend?
can we retieve those days of
spontaneous giggles
unfretterd spirit
uninhibited expression...?
tell me, my friend
if you know the one
one who robbed us of the
very fundemental connection
is he the master-crafter time?
is she a naughty elf?
him or her i wish to meet
no, not to accost
but to see if the booty
really filled his or her heart
and if it did
i wish to leave all of it
for their happiness...
20sep2009
13.20hrs
poem by Indira Babbellapati
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There Is A Void
There is a void, a sheer nothingness
that fills my life that is almost boundless
when you are away from me
when I see the world with a strange kind of aloofness
and in every misunderstanding
that is yearning for a kind of understanding,
there is something that is yearning for love
that comes selflessly and undemanding.
poem by Gert Strydom
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Can I Get A Witness
Can I get a witness
Maybe you got faith
In where this is going
Maybe Ill pull up the stakes
And Ill be letting go
I could not believe
I could not believe
Can I get a witness, witness x3
You know a lot of times I think how big
And I feel lost on the zag zig now
I could not believe
I could not believe
Can I get a witness, witness x3
And some of these people are just so lame
I dont feel like a pupil
Just a loser on a game show
I just cant believe it
No, I cant believe it
Can I get a witness, witness x3
Im rooting for you
And I toasted when I heard about you
And how you got a witness
A citizen maybe in another place
Here comes the wind
Im a chaser
Its time to leave
Here comes
Its time to leave
Can I get a witness, witness (repeat)
song performed by by Frank Black
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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When the history books are written about this tumultuous era, I want them to show that I was among those in the House of Representatives who stood up to lawlessness and tyranny.
quote by Elijah Cummings
Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
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The avocado tree
Next to the house
an avocado tree grows
over which this winter
during the night I draw
black plastic bags
to try and stop the effect of the black frost.
Tree branches around it protects
against the strong wind
but the climate attacks deadly
and every day
I and the tree have a struggle against nature
to let survival
last a little bit longer.
[Reference: Der Pflaumenbaum by Bertolt Brecht.]
poem by Gert Strydom
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You Were The One
(after Jan de Bruyn)
You were the one,
the one who could still love me
when my life was destroyed, turned to rock,
with my dreams laying shattered
and with my trampled name
destiny had cut me to pieces,
a so-called holy man confirmed it to you
but you wanted to stay away from me
and maybe you were haughty,
had no comprehension, or a urge for self preservation
or a type of aloofness
that hanged over me like a guillotine
and you were much too scared
when I longed for you the last time.
[Reference: “Joune was die laaste deur” (Yours were the last door) by Jan de Bruyn.]
poem by Gert Strydom
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The Houses
1898 -- A Song of the Dominions
'Twixt my house and thy house the pathway is broad,
In thy house or my house is half the world's hoard;
By my house and thy house hangs all the world's fate,
On thy house and my house lies half the world's hate.
For my house and thy house no help shall we find
Save thy house and my house -- kin cleaving to kind;
If my house be taken, thine tumbleth anon.
If thy house be forfeit, mine followeth soon.
'Twixt my house and thy house what talk can there be
Of headship or lordship, or service or fee?
Since my house to thy house no greater can send
Than thy house to my house -- friend comforting friend;
And thy house to my house no meaner can bring
Than my house to thy house -- King counselling King.
poem by Rudyard Kipling
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There was reference made to a book written in Greek by a former Rabbi who had been converted to Christianity. There was reference to a publication of a high clergyman of Milan. Not even did Jews raise objections to that book.
quote by Julius Streicher
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Some Kind Of Wonderful
I don't need a whole lots 'a money
I don't need a big, fine car
I got everything that a man could want
I got more than i could ask for
Now, i don't have to run around
I don't have to stay out all night
'cause i got me a sweet, a sweet lovin' woman
And she knows just how to treat me right
Well my baby, she's all right
Well my baby, she's clean out of sight, don't you know that
She's
She's some kind 'a wonderful
She's some kind 'a wonderful yes she is, she's a
She's some kind 'a wonderful yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
When i hold her in my arms
You know, she sets my soul on fire
Oo, when my baby kisses me
My heart becomes filled with desire
When she wraps her lovin' arms around me
It 'bout tires me out of my mind
Yeah, when my baby kisses me chills run up and down my spine
Well my baby, she's all right
Uh, my baby, she's clean out of sight, don't you know that
She's
She's some kind 'a wonderful
She's some kind 'a wonderful yes she is, she's a
She's some kind 'a wonderful yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Now is there anybody got a sweet little woman like mine
Got to be somebody got a, got a sweet little woman like mine
Can i get a witness
Can i get a witness
Can i get a witness
Can i get a witness
Repeat chorus
song performed by by Huey Lewis And The News
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Some Kind Of Wonderful
I dont need a whole lots of money,
I dont need a big fine car.
I got everything that a man could want,
I got more than I could ask for.
I dont have to run around,
I dont have to stay out all night.
cause I got me a sweet ... a sweet, lovin woman,
And she knows just how to treat me right.
Well my baby, shes alright,
Well my baby, shes clean out-of-sight.
Dont you know that shes ... shes some kind of wonderful.
Shes some kind of wonderful ... yes she is, shes,
Shes some kind of wonderful, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeahhh ...
When I hold her in my arms,
You know she sets my soul on fire.
Oooh, when my baby kisses me,
My heart becomes filled with desire.
When she wraps her lovin arms around me,
About drives me out of my mind.
Yeah, when my baby kisses me,
Chills run up and down my spine.
My baby, shes alright,
My baby, shes clean out-of-sight.
Dont you know that she is ... shes some kind of wonderful.
Shes some kind of wonderful ... yes she is,
Shes some kind of wonderful, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeahhh ...
Now is there anybody, got a sweet little woman like mine?
There got to be somebody, got a, got a sweet little woman like mine? yeah!
Can I get a witness?
Can I get a witness?
Can I get a witness? yeah ...
Can I get a witness? ohhh ...
Can I get a witness? yeah ...
Can I get a witness? yes.
Im talkin, talkin bout my baby. yeah.
Shes some kind of wonderful.
Talkin bout my baby.
Shes some kind of wonderful.
Talkin bout my baby.
Shes some kind of wonderful.
Im talkin bout my baby, my baby, my baby.
Shes some kind of wonderful.
Im talkin about my baby, my baby, my baby.
Shes some kind of wonderful.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, ... my baby, my baby.
Shes some kind of wonderful.
Talkin bout my baby, my baby, my baby.
Shes some kind of wonderful.
Im talkin bout my baby, my baby, my baby.
Shes some kind of wonderful.
(repeat to fade)
song performed by by Grand Funk Railroad
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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