What dreams are left to dream? (in answer to Mathews Phosa)
Everywhere where a person looks for work
the indication BEE only is proclaimed,
as if the claws of the monster
of affirmative action
continually goes wider and wider
and it’s not only
at state departments
but even in the private sector
that you get this onslaught of racism.
Without work, you are impoverished
even if you have whatever kind of degree
or experience,
in the end it means absolutely nothing
when you loose everything
and cannot pay your accounts.
Where will you get money for a cool drink or tea,
or to buy something at the nearest café
and what dreams are left to dream,
but for liberation
from this hellish oppression
[References: Only by Matthews Phosa. BEE is Black economic empowerment. (The poet Mathews Phosa is the premier of the Orange Free State province) ]
poem by Gert Strydom
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Related quotes
We did not own this country (in answer to Mathews Phosa)
We did not own this country
the Lord gave it to our ancestors
and when they stepped ashore here,
hordes came from eMbo out of the north
and the country also did not belong to them.
Let you see us as intruders,
you yourself are intruders,
a multitude of people out of the tribes
of Zulu, Xhosa, Swazi en Pondo
came from the big lakes under leadership
of chief Dklamini and later chief Nguni.
Our ancestors made a sacred covenant with God
to be able to survive
and still this relationship is held high
as forever God remains the same
and the people that now governs
do not represent me, are proclaiming laws
that are oppressing my Afrikaner people and me,
making me a third rate citizen
and I did not surrender this country
even less have left it
or have neglected any civil duties
and I am waiting on the salvation
coming out of the hand
of the almighty God.
[References: “Bulala Bathakathi” and “ons het ons land verlaat” (we left the country / land) by Mathews Phosa. (The poet Mathews Phosa is the premier of the Orange Free State province) ]
poem by Gert Strydom
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The future
The future is here
and I am beginning to fear
that the end of life as I know it
is very near
and society has changed from some integrity
to none and corruption.
Those that were oppressed
are now oppressing
with the world’s blessing
and use Black Economic Exploitation by law
to get the Revenge of the Dark People’s going
and work is scarce
or totally nonexistent
and I rather have my old broken world back
[References: BEE= Black Economic Empowerment. (Black economic exploitation) RDP = Reconstruction and Development Program (Revenge of the dark peoples.) ]
poem by Gert Strydom
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Lotus land
I.
There are no more oxen
to tread through the dust,
not even those of A.G. Visser
or Jan F.E. Cilliers
because they have died long ago
or are eaten
by Afrikaners as steak
and there’s no wagon
to be drawn,
because every chariot has its own power
and its own beauty too.
II.
Fast the kilometres rush past
and marsh and meadow
are driven through before sunrise
and if you leave at dawn
you can reach the Cape before dusk
and we are already living in a languid country
where the sauce train
comes and get many people
while the others
still have to pay tax.
Some sit without education in offices
passing the hours on their chairs
while they do not know how to work
or to do a task
and are just waiting for their wage
or to talk on the phone
III.
The rich get richer
while white men
that can work and have university education,
are jobless
and women now try to do their thing.
The ignorant becomes bosses
that only knows how to cringe
and by black economic empowerment
and affirmative action
uneducated get big salaries
while the country slides backwards.
IV.
Wanderers even come from other countries
and just where they can
they squat.
At every traffic light people stand and beg
and do not know
how to work
and with coins and rands
that everybody give in pity
this evil is strengthened.
V.
Caning is gone out of the schools
and most children do not know
respect anymore
and do not know how to learn
or to honour their parents
and I wonder what have become of my people
and where our country is going
and if everything is rushing to the end?
[References: “Lotus-Land” by A.G. Visser and “Die Ossewa” by Jan F.E. Celliers.]
poem by Gert Strydom
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State Of The Heart
I know your name
I told you mine
Weve stopped and passed the time of day
You work in town
I work at night
That gives us six until seven to work this out
If I seem a little strange
Its just the state of the heart
Im waiting here for you
In the state Im in
You are the moon
I am the sea
You pull me in and gaze on down at me
I was alone
I thought I was immune
Its good to know
The door can still be open wide
If I feel a little strange
Its just the state of the heart
Im waiting here for you
In the state Im in
Its just the state of the heart
I wait in the dark
I the state Im in
We get closer and closer
To falling out or falling in
I go over and over
But I cant change the state
This heart is in
If I seem a little strange
Its just the state of the heart
Im waiting here for you
In the state Im in
Its just the state of the heart
You know I wait in the dark
In the state Im in
It s the state of the heart
The state of the heart
The state of the heart
The state of the heart
song performed by by Rick Springfield
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Painful thoughts
Like a lightning
striking from a azure blue sky
and hitting where nobody expects it,
is the pain
when a Afrikaner hand
hits another Afrikaner down.
The bullet that bursts through Jopie Fourie
nobody can stop
and still that shot rings out
and are deafening.
How is a great Commandant General honoured
who for a day was President
of the Orange Free State
and taught the British a thing or two
about warfare?
How many women had to suffer anguish
and chained themselves
to free Christiaan De Wet
out of a nation’s
own prison
and his people
that buys his freedom
will forever stay with me.
By himself Jan Smuts changed
from a Boer hero,
to somebody
that lifts his hand against his own
to get worldly fame
and for his own benefit.
Today I wonder
where you and I
stand in these things?
How easy it has become with affirmative action
and BEE
to destroy the careers
of innocent Afrikaner men
and to push their life’s
on the rubbish dump
and I wonder how many Afrikaner women,
sit in the front chairs
while Afrikaner men
are praying to find a job?
It cuts like an unknown pain through me
and I wonder when merit
will again find a place
as a measure of fairness
and I see that my people are torn apart
and own benefit
is leading before integrity
and I wonder what are my people becoming?
[Reference: Jopie by: Jan F.E. Celliers. BEE=> Black Economic Empowerment.]
poem by Gert Strydom
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The state of the nation (in answer to T.T. Cloete and Clinton V. du Plessis)
The country have got too many people
that fancies themselves but really know nothing,
being in possession of jobs as if they belong there
without any comprehension how to do the work
while employers come in line with affirmative action.
The country have got too many
political leaders who are corrupt
that wants to tread on others as if they are elephant
or want to rip apart, want to slice others into pieces
with too many women
surrounding them like heroes
while they are supplanting others.
There are too many people
that takes that which belongs to others
with force, trying to steal the lives of others
while they play as if it is a computer game
killing farmers on farms, taking the right to existence
and humanity from others.
There are too many people only living for themselves,
trampling others around them
to get somewhere in life
who drive others out of their way,
who will do anything to earn more.
Too few people are still in love and love each other,
know how to protect
the sanctity of the marriage
and in vain lays the blame
with each and every beautiful escort
while the rotting
is already in their own hearts.
There are too many people
streaming in from other countries
with a dream to live here
while there is too little work
for the people that are here
and oppression is in place
over the jobs that exist
as if you want to go back
into the years of racism.
[References: Behoefte aan ongunstige weers- en ander omstandighede (Need for unfavourable weather – and other circumstances) by T.T. Cloete. tussentydse verslag (interim report) by Clinton V. Du Plessis.]
poem by Gert Strydom
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Magic
When I look in your eyes
I cant see why
Theres no reflection of me
When I look in your heart
Let it be the start
Work your magic on me
When I look in your eye
I cant see why
Its all a mystery to me
When I ask you to look inside and tell me why
Nothing can change what will be
Baby work your magic on me
Baby work your magic on me
Im in a state of permanent confusion
Without your love
Without your love
Baby work your magic on me
When I look in your mind
Is there a reason why
Its all an illusion to me
I was lost in the game
That only two can play
When you work your magic on me
Baby work your magic on me
Baby work your magic on me
Im in a state of permanent confusion
Without your love
Without your love
Baby work your magic on me
What kind of love is this youre talking about
Its got no reason got no easy way out
What kind of love as got a hold of me
What kind of love
What kind of love
What kind of love
Baby work your magic on me
When I look in your eye
I can see why
Theres no reflection of me
I should have known from the start
That you would steal my heart
If you work all your magic on me
Baby work your magic on me
Baby work your magic on me
Im in a state of permanent confusion
Without your love
Without your love
I know I want to be with you tonight
Baby work your magic on me
song performed by by Moody Blues
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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State Of The Heart (Special Extended Remix)
State of the Heart"
by Rick Sringfield
from Tao (c)1985 RCA
lyrics by Eric Mc Cusker
I know you name
I told you mine
we've stopped and passed the time of day
you work in town
i work at night
that gives us six until seven
to work this out
Chorus: If I seem a little strange
it's just the state of the heart
I'm waiting here for you
in the state I'm in
you are the moon
I am the sea
you pull me in and faze on down at me
i was alone
i thinkg i wa immune
it's good to know
the door can still be open wide
Chorus
it's just the state of the heart
i want in the dark
in the state I'm in
Chorus to end
song performed by by Rick Springfield
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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In the early morning
When a god in the early morning
descended from the east
he wanted to find
a farm girl
and to get a Afrikaner girl
as a mate,
but no Afrikaner farm girl
liked him.
He got really angry
and went to the old Orange Free State
and there he scorched the earth open
with lightning bolts
and blasted every thing flat
to be able to see miles far
when an Afrikaner farm girl passes.
He farmed as well as he could
and fetched his sheep
from the fields
and one day
when he was standing in the field
between the blue bushes,
he saw an Afrikaner farm girl going past
and on his horse
he rode as fast as the wind
with dust hanging
twisting behind him
to get his girl.
l’Envoi
With time a nation
emerged like giants
out of that dry earth
and they work
before the sun rises
farming in that arid region
and here and there
a boy
watches a girl...
[Reference: The Orange Free State is province in South Africa, which is very arid with a flat landscape.]
poem by Gert Strydom
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Dream Eater
Sometimes I kill you, or I let you live
My name is the Mr. simply the mister
I control your dreams, every dream you have is in my hands
When your running away from a monster, down the street, its not a monster
That thing chasing you, its society, it’s the prejudice, the racism, the hatred
When your having that nice dream, about a beautiful person, that just makes you-
That person, the beautiful person, is dead, too involved in looks, they have AIDS, you die, remember silly
Of course that dream about heaven you had just the other day, its so beautiful, white and pure
That’s actually hell, you woke up before the flames engulfed the purity, and all HELL broke loose
That other dream, the one you always had since a child, you always die at the end, by the mysterious figure, who you cant describe, just like a blob
That blob, that figure, that is me, and that is how will you die
You will die by that same knife, the same day, at the same time
However, you don’t die physically, I kill your imagination
I will not allow you to imagine what life might be like, you simply live, and assimilate, with the vermin in the world
Forevermore, I have killed you, the worst death of all, your mind.
poem by Daniel Schwarz
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And I just think that we're at a point in our economic life here in our state - and - and, candidly, across the country, where increased taxes is just the wrong way to go. The people of our state are not convinced that state government, county government, local government has done all they can with the money we already give them, rather than the money that we have before.
quote by Chris Christie
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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If My Oppression Has No End
I
If my oppression has no end,
even if I am downtrodden when my life is spent
I will receive it as if from the hand of God.
If my oppressors take everything that I own,
not only the two cars, which they have already stolen,
if my oppressors by acts of law,
by affirmative action take away
all means to make a living,
I will still rejoice in the love of God
as everything is permitted by Him.
II
Lord God, see me in my awakening
when the sun rises every morning,
be my companion, that leads on the way
when all my dreams are shattered,
when my enemies gather
and are joyous over my destruction,
when I loose hope, then please have mercy
and show Your saving love to me.
[Reference: “From Prison” by Todros Ben Judah Abulafia.]
poem by Gert Strydom
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One evening I see a thing
One evening
I see a thing
that let’s my blood boil,
while I watch the news
on the television set.
I know a bold man
without hair
that stands before a big crowd,
his country, the world
and the God of gods
and lays his hand
on the holy black book
and lies a promise down and gives a solemn oath
to be true to his country and fellow man.
His government drove me to Angola
and back again
and all of the oppressed
really did have to get freedom,
but where did he stay
his brother’s keeper?
Now it seems
that he really doesn’t have a clue
about how a white man
with a degree and lots of experience
has difficulty
to find a permanent job at forty five
and to put food on the table
and all of government
falls apart
through people that have no clue
how to do their work.
Thousands of rands of tax
are subtracted from my contract work
and tax pays
his fat pension.
I want to blister
like a hot potato,
because he has the impudence
to say something about affirmative action
and I pray for him
and ask God to change him
and for him to be blessed,
as it is the way
that my mother taught me
to do to my enemies.
My contract is finished
and I have to find another job
and from that,
he stands totally free.
poem by Gert Strydom
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State Of Dreams
Woke up at the break of day
Something chased my dreams away
Isnt it quite strange the way we live
Youre so pretty, youre so sweet
I like to watch you in your sleep
Id give a million if I knew your name
And all I need is to be with you
In a state of dreams - a state of dreams
Thats where I want it to be with you
In a state of dreams - a state of dreams
Love is such a fractured thing
Its splinters slither in our skin
Isnt it quite strange the way we play
Turn off the lights and come to bed
Forget the dreadful things Ive said
Lets wait until the stars come up and we will go our way
Cause all I need is to be with you
In a state of dreams - a state of dreams
Thats where I want it to be with you
In a state of dreams - a state of dreams
Woke up at the break of day...
Something chased my dreams away...
song performed by by Alphaville
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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An elegy for South Africa
Weep South Africa
as you are no longer my country
and I live here
as if I am
from another planet
as part of a small minority
in a country where dark Africa
declares murderers as heroes
and act like barbarians
and dance and scream.
At a time the orange, white and blue
streamed proud over you
and people at work,
school to parliament
bended their knees to God
who was their supreme leader
right through hordes
at blood river,
the onslaught of the British Empire
and with God on our side
we would quarter
for nobody and nothing.
Our own culture flowered,
children went through schools
right through university
to distinguish themselves
and you could even leave the doors unlocked,
could make a living somewhere,
the police were a servant and a friend
and we under our own rule.
How many times our ancestors
tried to teach other people of God,
distributed medicine and food
and we even faced
the communists and Cubans in Angola,
till on a day a man
for the wide world a hero,
out of our own ranks betrayed his brothers
and he laid the whole country lame
and didn’t sell it out,
but rather gave it away.
Today incompetents are everywhere in control
of state departments
right through into the parliament,
money is squandered,
a whole generation
through their own choosing
did not receive any school education,
whites are affirmed and impoverished by the law
and criminals and foreigners stream in
from all over Africa
to start a new life here.
Today another Afrikaner son is slaughtered
(one of more than three thousand) ,
what happens tomorrow and the next day?
[Reference: Murder on Eugene Terreblance. General condition in the country.]
poem by Gert Strydom
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The most successful men in the end are those whose success is the result of steady accretion... It is the man who carefully advances step by step, with his mind becoming wider and wider - and progressively better able to grasp any theme or situation - persevering in what he knows to be practical, and concentrating his thought upon it, who is bound to succeed in the greatest degree.
quote by Alexander Graham Bell
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Americans cannot maintain their essential faith in government if there are two Americas, in which the private sector's work subsidizes the disproportionate benefits of this new public sector elite.
quote by Mortimer Zuckerman
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Let South Africa be our country again
Let South Africa be our country again
and South Africans from all over the world
stream back,
to dream here like before,
to hope, to wish
of a place
not bordered of by burglar bars
where people can stay free
before God and man.
Let merit and respect be present
and people receive what they deserve
rather than expecting affirmative-action
and mercy from others
and the whole world
and like in the past
let us successfully do our own thing.
Let opportunities really exist
to be free in work,
living and association,
to study in your own language,
let us pull the teeth of the dogs
that rips others apart to rule,
of might that shatters the weak.
Let the animal inside us die
and we really become people
that does not burn each other,
crush and vituperate
and in groups jeering urge the killing on
and do not rob, but work
for the life that we have got.
Let we break the chains
of people ruling
with profit, might
and work people into the ground
and misuse others to gain prosperity.
I am the white Afrikaner that had to fight in war
and now are unemployed and hungry,
while I have a university degree.
I am the black man that without education
have to dig holes and man garbage trucks
and conclude my life in a shack.
I am the coloured that always stand between all groups
and do not know where I belong
and rather gather in gangs.
I am the South African that life
drives down the whole time
and have to pray all the time,
to know how to carry on.
l’Envoi
Still, I am the one that dream
of a country free from crime,
where everybody have equal opportunity,
where rape, corruption
and lawlessness ends
and where South Africa is our country again.
poem by Gert Strydom
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At my second job
At my second job,
before completing my degree,
like any other day
we were capturing
Debtor’s accounts by the hundred,
in a place where
accounts never ended.
The girls were talking
about their boyfriends
and some of the older
ladies about winning
at the slot machines
and the new girl
smiled at me.
I smiled back
and her eyes
and the way
that she walked away,
told me that she liked me.
From that day
it was really fun
to be at work
and every working day
was a new working experience.
poem by Gert Strydom
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I know it's going to be the private sector that leads this country out of the current economic times we're in. You can spend your money better than the government can spend your money.
quote by George W. Bush
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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