PSALM 130:5 NKJV
Cape Town, Monday, 15 June 2020
KRÉHON VOCA | 11
The Poet Tree
T H E B AT T L E ( Y O U T H D A Y , S A ) BY Noventwembi Naphakade
I was too young to remember
Because to those who are brave enough,
Yet I have inherited this.
To those who know that they must stand up and fight,
I played no part as an innocent child,
The future has been given –
But I must face the consequences.
They are the inheritors of the rainbow nation.
Because the wounds have not healed.
The journey will not be an easy one,
We try to make it better,
Its nature is such that it will not be over quickly.
But the hurt, the bitterness, runs so deep.
But as soldiers we accept the challenge –
Sometimes it feels like we’re fighting a losing battle.
Together we stand, together we can be victorious.
It is an undeserved part that we play
We accept the past as part of our history,
In trying to undo the injustice.
Yet we do not live by it.
It is a burden, a sorrowful load
Forming new links and relationships every day,
That we never asked to carry on our shoulders.
We find strength in our shared humanity.
As the youth of the new millennium
As children of Africa, united,
We do not have the experience, the memories
The burden becomes lighter.
To guide or hinder us on our journey –
The future has been handed to us
We see the world through untainted eyes.
And it is a bright one.
And yet we feel it, we feel it every day. We sense the anger and the pain. The blood spilt has dyed society, It is a dark shadow, always in the back of our minds. And yet, there is hope; A light shines that cannot be put out. It has burned throughout the dark night of the past,
And continues to give courage to the youth today.
“And yet, there is hope; A light shines that cannot be put out. It has burned throughout the dark night of the past, And continues to give courage to the youth today.”
