what is home to the vagabond soul,
spiralling,
splintering,
skewered,
unwhole,
plodding along
paths of
broken glass,
comforting,
cajoling,
assuring
my tattered soul:
these desolate moments
must
also
pass … … …
Hamba Kahle*, Senzo Meyiwa!
( 1987 – 2014 )
My Captain is gone.
Shot dead,
in cold blood,
another senseless killing,
another son of the soil snatched away from us,
leaving us empty,
cold,
desolate.
My Captain is gone.
shot and killed,
my Captain is gone,
leaving a void,
that can never be filled!
Hamba Kahle, my Captain!
Hamba Kahle, Senzo Meyiwa!
May your soul rest in eternal peace …
* – ‘Hamba Kahle’ – lit. – Travel Well, an isiXhosa expression, used especially to bid farewell to a person who has passed away.
From News24:
Cape Town – Senzo Meyiwa, who was tragically shot dead on Sunday evening, began his football career as a striker for hometown club London Cosmos in Umlazi, Durban in the 1990s.
He soon converted to the goalkeeper position and went on to represent KwaZulu-Natal in the Transnet Under-14 and Coca-Cola Under-17 Inter-Provincial tournaments in 2000 as a 13-year-old. His performances caught the eye of Orlando Pirates scouts, who brought him to the club’s development programme.
After making impressive progress through the youth levels, Meyiwa made his official debut for Orlando Pirates in a 2-1 win over AmaZulu on November 8, 2006.
He was an important part of the Pirates squad that won a famous ‘Double Treble’ in 2010/11 and 2011/12, claiming two MTN8 titles, two Absa Premiership titles, the Telkom Knockout and Nedbank Cup.
In 2013 Meyiwa’s career took a dramatic upswing, as he reclaimed the number one position at Orlando Pirates and was the team’s best player on their epic run to the final of the CAF Champions League, with his heroic performance in the away leg of the second round tie against DR Congo’s TP Mazembe particularly memorable.
He also made his Bafana Bafana debut, coming on as a substitute for Wayne Sandilands at half-time of a 2-0 friendly win over Lesotho in Maseru on June 2, 2013.
In 2014 the goalkeeper continued his rise to prominence, helping Orlando Pirates win the 2014 Nedbank Cup before taking advantage of the injury-enforced absence of close friend and goalkeeping rival Itumeleng Khune to be Bafana Bafana’s first choice goalkeeper for their 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches in September and October.
Meyiwa was not only the first choice goalkeeper, but also handed the captain’s armband by new coach Ephraim ‘Shakes’ Mashaba. Inspired by the honour, the Pirates goalkeeper kept four successive clean sheets as South Africa claimed top spot on the standings after four matches and put themselves within touching distance of qualification for the 2015 AFCON.
Meyiwa’s last professional appearance was on Saturday, October 25 at Orlando Stadium as he helped the Buccaneers to a 4-1 victory over Ajax Cape Town in a Telkom Knockout quarter-final.
He was aged 27 years and 32 days upon his death on October 26 in Vosloorus.
Senzo Meyiwa factfile:
Born: September 24, 1987
Place of birth: Umlazi, Durban
Position: Goalkeeper
Former clubs: Orlando Pirates juniors and Yebo Yes United (Pirates reserve team)
Orlando Pirates debut: November 8, 2006, Orlando Pirates 2-1 AmaZulu
Orlando Pirates starts: 157
International honours: Former South Africa U-17, U-20 & U-23 international; 7 Bafana Bafana caps (6 starts, 1 sub)
Bafana Bafana debut: June 2, 2013, Lesotho 0 South Africa 2
Honours: 2010 & 2011 MTN8 winner; 2011 & 2012 Absa Premiership winner; 2011 & 2014 Nedbank Cup winner; 2013 CAF Champions League runner-up
life, love, & sweetly aching blues …
caught red-handed,
stealing moments,
a mere nanosecond,
of hastily borrowed time …
I stand accused,
of a past,
pockmarked by shrapnel skidding off the many alleyways of life …
I plead guilty,
naked and stripped bare,
engaged in a duel with destiny and time,
wasting,
&
wasting away,
scribbling verses in the sand,
devoid of an iota of life’s maddening,
&
Irresistibly seductive rhyme …
You whispered in my ear,
a breathy secret, hushed.
“I love you”, you murmured.
I said nothing,
lost, in your arms,
I found a home. At last.
“I love you”, you said,
I said nothing,
lost in my thoughts,
I found peace. At last.
“I love you”, you said,
words failed me then.
They still do
You and I.
You.
Your heart blazed,
with a warmth of spirit,
soothing,
alluring,
soaked in truth.
Your smile burned,
branding me permanently,
gentle,
tender,
enveloping my being.
Your love was complete,
from the depths of your soul,
unsaid,
yet fierce,
bathed in silent knowing.
Your dreams were poetic,
fluttering in the afternoon breeze,
infused with the distilled essence of rhyme.
I.
I squandered your generosity of spirit.
I vainly discarded your priceless poetry.
Now I stand,
alone,
empty,
desolate,
wasting away,
rotting inside, day by day.
Then:
Desire enveloped us,
stoking fierce passions,
beneath a milky moon,
your abandoned kisses,
left me breathless,
under a starlit sky,
love silenced our nights,
a serene peace settling,
filling empty desolation,
at rest at long last,
your presence my final abode,
each caress rich with hope.
Now:
your absence is felt,
each day, every night,
throttling my dreams,
crawling inside a void,
my crumbling heart weary,
knowing you may never return,
all promises lay strewn,
like quiet wilting flowers,
brushing against my thoughts,
defeated by your love,
my tortured breathing,
is shallow, agonising, slow,
each memory a jagged ache,
knowing you left,
a thousand moons ago.
Mora Piya Ghar Aaya (My Beloved Has Returned Home)
|
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Autumn:
the leaves fell, as you left, a bleak chill wafting across the barren space within my being,
you left, taking your smile and mine,
my smile rests with you still, leaving a void impossible to fill.
|
|
Winter:
pangs of longing consumed me, my only company in the frigid nights,
my tears remain frozen, within,
unable to fall from my broken eyes, as I searched the depths of the cold, harsh skies.
|
|
Spring:
birds returned home, though you did not, and I felt soothing rebirth all around,
memories of you began blazing, their embers stoked,
and at last the tears rolled, like ink on this blank notebook, my whole being pined for you, my very self in anguish silently shook.
|
|
Summer:
alive I felt again, the promise of the coming cooling rain, easing the heat of desire,
yet the furnace slowly raged inside, your absence tearing into me, shattering my nights, my longing for you soaring unfettered across the skies,
dancing on clouds, blissfully free,
|
|
Monsoons:
heaven itself opened, the deluge an unending dream,
rain falling all around, mingling with my flowing tears,
and then I saw you, you returned, and I embraced you, never wishing to let you go,
and though I may wear the mask of the clown,
if you were to leave again,
my very soul, would quietly slip away, and in the monsoon rains, I would gratefully drown.
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scribblerofverses@gmail.com
😉 Illegitimi non carborundum 🙂
Staggering, my vision cloudy,
I fall to the hard ground.
when life’s sharp left-jab leaves my face bloody,
and all that surrounds me, is the desolation of loss I feel all around.
…
I see myself slipping,
down the abyss to where nothingness exists,
still, I cling on, groping for a foothold,
for my will to stay persists.
…
I clamber up, I stand my ground, though battered and bruised I may be,
my curtain is not falling yet, I have some fight still left in me.
…
It is then, in the pit of despair, when all seems bleak and painful and dull,
I summon the strength from deep within,
I rise, slowly, to face the day,
I refuse to sink,
to wallow, to surrender, to throw in the towel,
to drown,
for I am stronger now,
indeed I am, after all the years, and all the battles,
I stand, bruised and bloody,
still,
I stand,
I refuse, to sink, to drown,
for they can try, to punish me some more,
but I shall not allow them to grind me down… 😉
Distant African Nights.
1.
The shadows swayed in your candlelit room,
a cool breeze teasing your bare back,
streaks of lightning forked in the Johannesburg night,
as my hands stroked your hair,
kissing your soft mouth,
holding you, ever so tight.
2.
You whispered that you loved me, and I kept silent,
the rain fell, the shadows danced, the thunder rolled, the breeze teased your naked back,
you whispered that you loved me,
as my lips found yours,
the rain washed over our tender nights,
lightning and candlelight etching poems on your burnished skin,
yet a fear gnawed at me, deep within.
3.
We parted ways, and you could never forgive me, you said,
now, after numberless thunderstorms,
the rain that falls,
are the countless tears that I have shed.
4.
You are long gone, far away and happy, I pray,
yet the memories persist,
those precious moments shall never, ever trickle away,
and I wish you well, for loving me as you did,
it was I who was not worthy,
then,
it is I who is not worthy now,
for you were always true,
it was I who always, always,
never allowed myself,
to give myself, completely to you.
as you continue the struggle some more, today for life…
‘it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die’ you said, all those years ago
as you stood in the dock awaiting the sentence of death
they locked you up instead
for 27 hard and long and arduous years
you stood firm
you never wavered
you gave hope to us all
and then when they could no longer keep up their unjust tyranny
you emerged into the light of freedom
your hand raised in a defiant fist in the february Cape Town air
– Amandla!
you then weaved and bobbed and fought some more, the boxer in you always present
you fought for peace in our land
for us all you fought
and then came that glorious day
when you were our president
and we laughed and we cried
and you fought for us even more
today you fight a different fight
for life, and we are helpless
we, who you fought for all along
have only hope and prayer and song and wishes of life for you
today, you fight some more
may you fight for life some more, Tata Madiba!
and may you prevail
for you are our father
and father, your children call out to you once more
with wishes
prayers
songs
your children wish for you, to remain here with us some more
and though helpless your children may be
in this battle that you wage for life today
and though frail and old your body is
your indomitable spirit smiles that inimitable Madiba smile
your spirit resides in each of us
your loving children
amandla!
Scribbled Verse 