​Sheldean Human
7 yrs
Pretoria

​Blou Oog Meisetjie

Met jou eerste skoppie in mamma se baarmoeder was daar ‘n opgewondenheid by haar,
dog die omstandighede
Jy het in die weręld gekom, blonde haartjies blou ogies, volmaakte bondeltjie vreugde.
Om jou doel te bring aan elke Suid Afrikaner.

Jy is die klein blonde, skamerige, blou oog meisietjie
wat elke Suid Afrikaner se harte laat bloei.
Met jou foto teen lamppale, koerante, vensters, geboue, skoolbusse…
gryp elke klein dogterjie en seuntjie stywer na mamma se hand.

Jy het reggekry wat geen leier ooit kon, jy het gewys hoe ‘n volk bymekaar kan staan.
Klein meisietjie met die sprankelende oë, jy straal die lus vir die lewe uit.
Jou uitdagende glimlag sę jy's reg vir die toekoms.

Tevrede met wat die lewe jou bied,
het jy aanvaar wat pappa en mamma se lewens omstandighede is.
Jy het saam gevloei met die stroom van die lewe.
Jou plesierige laggie vol lewenslus hang nog in die parkie.

Dis ‘n Sondag die dag van die Here waar almal Sy naam moet eer maar,
die mens het die dag lelik gemaak, ook vir jou klein meisietjie.
Dis badtyd vir jou, jou pienk hempie en jean rompie is seker ook vuil
soos daardie klein voetjies vol sand en stof van die dag se speel.

Waar is jy klein meisietjie, wat het hulle met jou gemaak?

Die A,B,C … 1+1 het sy geleer, daar is nog soveel wat sy moet leer

Bring haar terug! roep die hele Suid Afrika.

© ALMA 2007

Are you There - by Diane Robertson

Misty breeze wraps about my shoulders, thinly clad.
I shiver not, despite the coolness on my skin.
Comfort, I now feel.
Is it you my precious Angel?

Are you there? I cannot hear your quiet voice,
But bird song fills the air
From high treetops to grassy marsh.
I wonder – is it you, Dear? Are you there?

The roses in your garden bloom large,
And varied in hue from crimson deep, to barely pink.
I cup the velvet bud, its fragrance soothes a troubled mind.
This must be you, my little girl. Are you there?

Are you the fiery autumn maples,
Or the star-like flakes of snow?
Are you the sparkle in the water of the lake that we both loved,
Or, perhaps, the warmth I feel in the sand beneath my toes?

Though your quiet voice I cannot hear,
Nor can I see again your sparkling eyes,
Or feel your dainty hand laid gently on my own,
You are here.

For memory’s book will never close –
Each lovely sound, or sight, or scent,
Another page from special times that we have shared.
Oh, yes! You are here child – everywhere!

Jasmine Pretorius
4 yrs
Brakpan

Listen

Can nobody hear the children scream? Can nobody hear them cry?
Do we have to wait until it's too late, or wait until they die?
When will the silent majority speak out for what is right,
And move aside the bureaucracy, that keeps everything sealed tight.
And still the children scream, and still the children cry,
And still we all do little, and still the children die.

Charles Dennison

​Stacey Wiese
11 yrs
Cape Flats

​My Child Has Been Set Free

Daughters hold a special bond
That nothing can replace
Their smiles can chase the blues away
And brighten up a face.

Joys we've known, a special day
Shared between us two
Secret talks and peaceful walks
Just to name a few.

Times of reminiscing
The day you learned to crawl
Looking through the photos
I've always kept them all.

But one sad day, the phone did ring
It tore my world in two
A voice came on the other end
“I have bad news for you.”

The precious girl, I loved so much
Was quickly leaving me
So many things we might have known
Will never come to be.

Thoughts of her are everywhere
I cannot let her go
But somewhere up in heaven
A star does softly glow.

She sees a Joy unknown to me
Her face is full of Light
They walk into the Promised Land
God holds her hand so tight.

Just as the shifting sands of time
Flows gently out to sea
Here today and gone tomorrow
My child has been set free.

Marilyn Ferguson
©2005