MADIBA

The hills and the valleys of Muezo,

where you walked as a boy,

have gathered you home, 

Madiba.

May your people follow
in your footsteps,

ululating your name.

They laid you to rest,

home at last, 

at the end of

your long walk to freedom,

after the shining vision

that you made of your time
on this earth.

You followed
the dream in your heart,

nurtured for decades;

you achieved its reality

- and its justice -

for your people.

Your dance of joy

echoed in my heart,

the day that dream came true.

May the cry of the sacred ibis

and the respectful roar of the lion

sing through your soul, forever,

Madiba.

May the voices
of your people, singing,

all across the land,

croon through your long sleep.

With their clenched fist salute,

they honour you.

In one lifetime,

I am fortunate 

to have witnessed

greatness,

rising:

Martin. Bobby.

Barack.

And you, Madiba,

whose vision and integrity

never faltered,

whose shine

will never dim.

In honour of Nelson Mandela Day. And for Susan's prompt for Midweek Motif at Poets United: Greatness. We badly need another leader like these, to rise and lead North America out of the mess it is in right now.  It is going to take hard work to restore what has been destroyed.