HE LIVED AMONG US
By Wayne Visser
Tribute to Nelson Mandela (1918-2013)
He lived among
us –
This child named
Rolihlahla
This boy called
Nelson
This man we knew
as Mandela –
And now he is
gone
He shared our
days –
This son of
Africa, our Madiba
This father of a
nation, our Tata
This guardian of
humanity, our Elder –
And now he is
gone
He was one of us
–
This shepherd of
the people
This harbinger
of hope and joy
This legend of
our time and place –
And now he is
gone
He was our
leader
Our defender,
our nation’s spear
And he showed us
how to fight
He was our enemy
Our nemesis, our
conscience
And he showed us
how to be free
He was our light
Our sun, our
inspiration
And he showed us
how to forgive
Yet did we ever
really know him?
This lawyer who
became an outlaw
This soldier who
became a peacemaker
This prisoner
who became a liberator
How can we
fathom his depths?
This father who
lost a son and wife
This comrade who
lost so many friends
This martyr who
lost twenty-seven years
How can we see
into his heart?
This
intellectual who became an activist
This statesman
who became a gardener
This icon who
became the world’s beloved
We remember him
For his skilful
manoeuvring
Through the
political maze
And even more
for his love of dancing
We remember him
For his human
touch
Among the powerful
and powerless
And even more
for his love of children
We remember him
For his human
foibles
That made him
fallible like us
And even more
for his love of justice
He lived among
us –
And now it is for
us to carry his torch onward
It is for us to
follow his shining example
It is for us to
fight for his unshakeable ideals –
Now that he is
gone
He shared our
days –
And now we must
make the rest of our days count
We must work as
he did to set others free
We must show that
the spirit can triumph in the end –
Now that he is
gone
He was one of us
–
And now we are
challenged to become one of him
We are inspired
to be the best we can be
We are reminded
that ‘I am because we are’ –
Now that he is
gone
Nkosi Sikelel’iMandela!
We will honour
his memory
By never losing
faith in times of adversity
We will celebrate
his life
By always daring
to hope for a miracle
We will keep his
legacy alive
By choosing to
walk daily in his footsteps
On the path of
love
Amandla! Awethu!
---
Image credits: Painting by Alfred Hilton (c) 2013
