The parallels are uncanny,
The lifespans overlapping for 30 years,
The colouring similar,
The fight very different and much longer,
The result probably still to come !
Madiba, you are loved and revered
As much as the Mahatma
But the burden of sainthood
Might escape you and for good
The pedestal is dangerous
Makes the mud caked feet visible,
And the measuring scale even more exact, inhuman
The colourful shirts and the silvery mane
Will make them even more obvious
But you are just as relevant
The Mahatma bore the burden
Of being a man expected to be a saint
And fight a non-violent war
For a single hued nation
Formed from a multitude of religions, castes, words and wear
You went his way
And then away, and still remained tall
Different times
Needed different means
The hardships, the pain, the result no less
We have something of a connection..
You were locked away,
When Krishnan was born …
And freed a month before we met
The year we married
A special memory of the connection
At the cradle of mankind
Krishnan’s hand fitting right into
The clay mould of your hand !
Little treasures of life…
Did 29 years of not seeing a rainbow
Help you to dream of the rainbow nation ?
When walls close in
Many lose their mind,
But they transformed yours !
A glorious life
An example of remaining human
Under inhuman conditions
A life of caring for the other
In times when the world around doesn’t truly care
Now you lie on a bed with machines
And men trying to keep you earthbound
While you try and fly away
Into a glorious rainbow
The lasting freedom …. For a lasting legend.