History

My Diary June 2014 onwards

Mine
 
 
 
It is mine
all mine
in a small Dorp
in the Eastern Transvaal
I remember showering with miners
after being underground
and I remember
 playing on the mine dumps
all alone with my air gun
I remember owl nests
with gory rat remains
I remember thirst and walking
for miles on the dumps
it was eerily quiet
I liked being alone
and I liked wandering off
and the black girl?
well it was the librarians fault
she allowed me to wander the isles
in the Dorp library unattended
for many hours
I looked at illicit pictures
of bantu women
in national geographic
and other books
and fell in love
the were earthy
they were real
they had magnificent breasts
their shiny black bodies alluring
I was but a little boy
locked into my own world
unaware that my mind
was on forbidden tracks
that I viewed the enemy
that I was entranced
by forbidden fruit
one day, I promised myself
shall I taste
shall I drink
from the dark well
the surreal landscape
of fantastic form
of yellow and rusted metal
was my lonely playground
and I did
I did drink from the well
in a forbidden place
next to a mine dump
it was my destiny
one I created for myself
a blonde boy
lost in the arms
of an African Queen
it is mine
my mine
my thoughts
my dreams
in my mine dorp
it shaped a country
transformed a landscape
are the legacy
of a torn country
built on a mine
the colours of crystals
seeping from the dark depths
of forgotten mines
became a rainbow nation
honed from blood and sweat
our sweaty bodies
groaning in ecstasy
mixing oil and water
forming nectar
so sweet
so forbidden
so mine
Peace and love be with you
my brothers and sisters
all mine
forever
amen
doulos
 
 Abuse
 

 
Ok be the judge
do you know someone?
do you know an abused child?
do you know an abused woman?
an abused husband?
an old person?
yes you do
and so do I
but we have buried
our heads in the sand
this debate about
the Springs Monster
asks hard questions
from society
I know a family
where things do not seem right
months without electricity
small children always dirty
teenagers not going to school
criminal activity and drugs
and I have not reported them
I have not told the Police
or welfare
Why?
My wife and I discussed it
we have tried to help
Would the children be better off
in an orphanage?
the teenagers in jail?
do we fail them
by not speaking
how many other families
suffer in similar ways
or worse?
and they live in the suburbs
not I a squatter camp
The whole system fails them
The State,Security cluster,
Health and Welfare
and Education.
all fail them
They have a right
to live a better life
we all agree
Their house is For Sale
so the problem
will move elsewhere
recently it hit
closer to home
literally
we did not know
The grandparents
uncles and aunts and cousins
did not know
we suspected something
did not get involved
where prevented from it
by court orders and threats
until the State finally
stepped in after 11 years
until a child
spoke to a caring Teacher
their healing
will take many more years
than the eleven years
they suffered in silence
so do we speak?
do we get involved?
are our collective conscious
 stirred enough?
to act
 people make bad choices
marry wrong partners
and suffer in silence
as a consequence
instead of seeking help
they self "medicate"
with drugs and alcohol
and immoral acts
and worsen the situation
sometimes beyond repair
This debate
is necessary
it is overdue
the fabric of our society
of family life
is torn and shred
and needs repair
desperately
so please speak out
for the sake of
the fragile
the weak
we owe
them
that much
peace and love be with you
my brothers and sisters
and may we care enough
to speak
forever
amen
doulos
 
 
 Poor boy
I have to share the story
of  poor servant
from the 17th century
and his unserimonial burial
imidiatly Bohemian Rhapsody
played in my mind

 A full scale reconstruction of the skeleton
 
 
 
Upon use of the cellar as a grave, it appears that the surviving occupants of the home continued to unceremoniously deposit trash, food remains, broken bottles and plates into the trash pit. While the burial had a distinct lens of clay overtop of it, suggesting that the occupants may have used the dense, easily packed clay to cover the corpse and its smell, trash was located in the deposit only inches from the burial itself. In his summary report, Dr. Owsley noted “the location and informality of this burial with nontraditional positioning of the body present a marked contrast to other Colonial burials dating to the last half of the 17th century.” Owsley remarked that the grave excavation was given little attention, noting that the floor is uneven and the grave was much too small for the body. The most revealing component of the burial was the fragment of Milkpan used to press the body into the too-small shaft, and the contemporaneous trash deposited adjacent the burial.  
 

 
 
 

The Leavy Neck skeleton tells an important story not found in the Archives or most history books- the archaeological evidence tells the story of an indentured servant who toiled in the burgeoning settlement of Providence. His ultimate deposition in the cellar simply reinforces the realities of a difficult existence; particularly for indentured servants. His unfortunate demise will add important information to our understanding of life and death in the 17th century Chesapeake. As Hobbes notes in his 1651 “Leviathan”, the life of man in his natural state is solitary, poor, nasty,
brutish and short, a perfect analogy for the life of this indentured servant.
 
I shall share some words and their meanings
from this song
for those who play vinyl backwards
to reveal the "true" meaning

 
 Freddie Mercury wrote the lyrics, and there has been a lot of speculation as to their meaning. Many of the words appear in the Qu'ran. "Bismillah" is one of these and it literally means "In the name of Allah." The word "Scaramouch" means "A stock character that appears as a boastful coward." "Beelzebub" is one of the many names given to The Devil.

Mercury's parents were deeply involved in Zoroastrianism, and these Arabic words do have a meaning in that religion. His family grew up in Zanzibar, but was forced out by government upheaval in 1964 and they moved to England.
Mercury may have written "Galileo" into the lyrics for the benefit of Brian May, who is an astronomy buff.
The name "Bohemian" in the song title seems to refer not to the region in the Czech republic, but to a group of artists and musicians living roughly 100 years ago, known for defying convention and living with disregard for standards. A "Rhapsody" is a piece of Classical music with distinct sections that is played as one movement. Rhapsodies often have themes. (thanks, George -
Some will disagree; others will have an “ah ha” moment when I tell you that this song is about The Death Penalty in the United States.

still interested
read the facts here
http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=685

I just had to honour this 17th century slave
and what is more fitting
than the haunting beauty
of this brilliant piece of music
peace and love be with you my brothers
slaves and freemen alike
forever
Amen
doulos


 
 addict

 
 But for the grace of God
there goes I
we all did it
we all experimented with
addictive substances
at least most of us did
cigarettes, weed or alcohol
we survived
most of us did
some don't
we rushed to our home
in rural KZN
because he went off the rails
again
he degrade himself
made a total fool of himself
even walked naked in town
in broad daylight
My anger was justified
not only is he harming himself
he also harms all around him
even his 80 year old grandmother
he had a bright future
in front of him
he fell for the lies
of foreign strangers
even forsaking his religion
he was awarded with addiction
we all read the story
of a mother who killed her son
because of it
then there are fools
publicly stating
they "only sold" drugs
but did not use it
that ,you idiot
is as bad as killing someone
in cold blood
I know
we rushed away
to try and make sense
out of the misery
that drugs
always cause
when the weak
falls for it
fortunately
there is still justice
in this land
the investigating officer
commented
"He is intelligent,
he is not mad yet,
he can recover"
so he will sit
in jail for 14 days
and them
he will be
sent to rehab
for at least two years
then maybe
just maybe
by the grace of God
will we have our son back
peace and love be with you
my brothers and sisters
and may your children be spared
the hell of addiction
forever
amen
doulos


Ever

you do not wipe out life
using ctrl, alt, delete
your hard drive may perish
your motherboard too
but your RAM
remains
quantum physics
has a theory
that consciousness
is forever
and merely moves
to another universe
when our bodies expire
there it recreates its vessel
and happily keep
on existing
forever
I know little
about computers
less about cyberspace
and nothing about physics
but I know
forever
and
ever
yes
we falter
we make mistakes
wrong choices
we let go
of our "selves"
we regret
we despair
we even try
to unlike
our lives
we decide
our sell by date
has come
our best before
date
a distant memory
our packaging
is worn
and torn
decaying
fast
our
content
spoiled
poisonous
we are
expired
right?
wrong
your song
like
the word
is forever
peace and love be with you
my brothers and sisters
forever
amen
doulos



ass


He was old
his loins dry
his desire
still burning
to have a son
his wife was bare
she wanted to please him
and gave him
a young nubile woman
to satisfy him
and bare him a son
sounds familiar
well yes
to  me it does
been there, done that
if only
he did not enjoy it
so much
if only he could get enough
of her young body
she tried everything
to get him to
love her again
and then
a son was born
it was "dat ass"
that started it all
Abraham banished her
and her son
things at home
was getting
out of hand
the madam and the maid
at loggerheads
we do not read
much more about Ishmael
in the Bible
only that he will be
like a wild ass etc.
In the Islamic world
he is revered as a prophet
the father of the Arabs
the compilers of our Book
conveniently omitted
that part of the story
my Calvinist
sensibilities
would not be able
to digest that
they thought
I mean really
this old man bonking
this maid and all
it was illegal
it was outrageous
and in South Africa
it was hidden
deep in our conscious
I relate
to this story
all of it
even the bits
our forefathers
left out of the bible
now do you understand
Boko Haram
do you understand
sectarian violence in Nigeria
do you understand
that God's ways
are not man's ways
do you understand
they deliberately
kept us in the dark
they are the cause
of the conflict
because they thought
they knew
 better
those scribes of our
beloved book
the result
God seems to be
this irrational
angry Deity
Yet
Hagar was the mother
of many nations
Her son revered
by millions
be careful what you read
and more careful
how you interpret
Holy books
peace and love be with you
my brothers and sisters all
forever
amen
doulos


















 


 
 
 
 


6 comments:

  1. it shaped a country

    transformed a landscape

    are the legacy

    of a torn country

    built on a mine

    the colours of crystals

    seeping from the dark depths

    of forgotten mines

    became a rainbow nation

    honed from blood and sweat

    our sweaty bodies

    groaning in ecstasy

    mixing oil and water

    forming nectar

    so sweet

    so forbidden

    so mine

    ReplyDelete
  2. This debate

    is necessary

    it is overdue

    the fabric of our society

    of family life

    is torn and shred

    and needs repair

    desperately

    so please speak out

    for the sake of

    the fragile

    the weak

    we owe

    them

    that much

    ReplyDelete
  3. I just had to honour this 17th century slave
    and what is more fitting
    than the haunting beauty
    of this brilliant piece of music

    ReplyDelete
  4. then there are fools

    publicly stating

    they "only sold" drugs

    but did not use it

    that ,you idiot

    is as bad as killing someone

    in cold blood

    ReplyDelete
  5. we decide
    our sell by date
    has come
    our best before
    date
    a distant memory
    our packaging
    is worn
    and torn
    decaying
    fast
    our
    content
    spoiled
    poisonous
    we are
    expired
    right?
    wrong

    ReplyDelete
  6. do you understand
    they deliberately
    kept us in the dark
    they are the cause
    of the conflict
    because they thought
    they knew
    better
    those scribes of our
    beloved book

    ReplyDelete