MY POETIC LETTER OF GRATITUDE: Celebration of Women's Day

MY POETIC LETTER OF GRATITUDE: Celebration of Women's Day

By: Moises M. Antunes “Wima the Poet”

Amandla! Amandla! Amandla!

South African Women, black, coloureds

                                       White and Indians

Be my notepad, as I write on you

Be my pen, as I write with blood

Shed by some of the greatest heroines

Be my guest, as I invite you

To my home of history and victory

Be my passenger as I drive you

Through a past once travelled by you

My pen trembles in a retrospective dance

As the ink leaks with blood of unsung heroines

Lest me run after the time to grab this chance

A chance to celebrate South African women

As my right hand dances with my pen

To depict the beauty of this garden

I surround my mind with thoughts of gratitude

For I am a flower which sprung up from her

                             I value you

On the 9^th August 1956, you bravely

Opposed the chain of oppression

You stood up for a free nation

Which today, lives its realization

South African women of all races

Embarked on a journey with their heads up

Courageously replaced fear with bravery

Yes, if you strike a woman you strike a rock

Thou art the foundation of the rainbow nation

You advanced, where men were banned 

You picked up where men left out

Your action resuscitated the hopes of men in despair

You generously added a moral support 
                                         To the liberation struggle 

                  

You went straight to the house of apartheid

                                               To oppose it bravely

While men went underground to fight it

                     I salute you

“No woman no cry”, was the song of the situation

But you refused to continue crying and joined

                                                           The opposition

 Decided to challenge the reason for your tear

Decided to raise your voices louder and clear

So that the whole world could hear your cry

                        I respect you

Today the 9^th of August it is
South Africa national women’s day

A day to appreciate your overriding role

As heroines, mothers, sisters and wives

May the new generation find inspiration

                                          In your past

To be a portent vanguard of the present

Thank you !

                Ngiyabonga !

 Enkhosi !

                 Dankie

Obrigado !

                Merci !

Gracias !

End

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Launched on the 9th of August 2013,   in the celebration of South African Women’s day.

A poem of gratitude for the crucial role played by South African women against the apartheid system.

All rights reserved@Wima the Poet 2013|South Africa, Cape Town