Bitter battles fought across
With words, with silence or through force.
We talk about moving beyond the hate,
Resurrecting the future, forgetting what went.
But pent up somewhere deep inside,
The remembrance of the past still lies.
Blaming each other for the miseries ensued,
Squabbling about the past and the blaming continues.
We live in the present talking about the past,
Dream of a future built on graves of what has gone past.
But one man stood above that all,
Looking ahead and standing tall.
He unified all in what he believed
He went through turmoil in an apartheid regime.
Yet with a smile he bore it all.
Rose up stronger every time he would fall.
With humble steps every mountain he climbed.
Only to find another to conquer in sight.
He didn’t need force
Or a slugfest of words.
Just a bit of humanity and love for all.
While others talked, he walked the walk,
And did what people only dreamt of.
To build a strong future, with unity in the fray,
He broke the bridge between conflict of the past and peace
of today.
Fondly known as Madiba to all,
Though Nelson Mandela has gone, his spirit will live on...
