Some in this collection are mine, some belong to
others……..well known and not so well known. Some are joyful, some nostalgic and
some others sad, but as I go through them I realise they tell stories of times
in my life, experiences that have shaped me and people who have crossed my
path. Some of these people were quickly gone, some stayed for a while……some of
you came and stayed.
And you will stay on…….you are important to me – my life
would be incomplete without you.
The people who stayed for a while and left, they may have
come only for a season but I know now that they were there because it was time
for me to share, to grow and to learn. They may have brought experiences of joy
and laughter, of peace or even of sadness and heartbreak, but they left
footprints that led me towards self discovery.
I read and remembered, and I especially thought of a very
complex man who had touched my life deeply for a season. It was only a season
and it was the best of times and also the worst of times……..and there was
profound sadness and sorrow. As I relived the gamut of emotions, I see now he
had taught me more about myself than I ever knew.
I remember sitting in the quiet of my room one night, alone
with my thoughts. I remember the tears as I said my final goodbye thinking of
what was and what could have been. Eighteen years ago……….it feels like it was
just yesterday and yet like another lifetime. Let me share with you the
thoughts I had penned down that night………
Alone he journeyed
On the desert land called earth
Often stared at
Sometimes in awe
Sometimes in disbelief
Listened to maybe
But rarely understood
He walked the land
For thirty six odd years
A braver soul
One cannot hope to find
His beliefs he never compromised
If he had to stand alone
Stand alone he did
Ridicule he bore
Strong and solid
He never wavered…
Some thought he was crazy
Some thought he was a fake
Nobody ever knew
How well he knew
What he was doing and why
His world always seemed
So full of people
But he was more alone
Than he himself cared to admit
He wouldn't let anyone too close
Was he afraid of hurting others
Or maybe of getting hurt again?
I don’t know
The cards that were dealt him
Early in life
Sealed his lonely fate maybe
He couldn't quite believe
That anyone could ever really care…..
Wherever he travels now
I hope he knows
That someone did
Farewell, my friend
I shall shed no more tears
For I know
Today
You walk a better land
(Lelie Liegise 1961-1997)