FREEDOM, a poem on South Africa by Afzal Moolla

Freedom

The shackles have been cast off.
Chains broken.

People once squashed,
under the jackboot of Apartheid,
are free.

Free at last!

Freedom came on the 27th day in that April, 1994.

Freedom from prejudice.
From institutionalised racism.
From being relegated to second-class citizenship.

Freedom came and we danced.
We cried.
We ululated as we elected
our revered Mandela.

President Nelson Mandela. Our very own beloved 'Madiba'.

Black and white and brown and those in-between,
All hues of this rainbow nation,
rejoiced as we breathed in the air of freedom and democracy.

Today we pause.
We remember.
We salute.

The brave ones whose sacrifices made this day possible,
on that 27th day of April,
18 years ago.

Today we dance.
We sing.
We ululate.
We cry.

Tears of joy and tears of loss.
Of remembrance and of forgiveness.
Of reconciliation and of memories.

Today we pause.

We acknowledge the tasks ahead.
The hungry.
The naked.
The destitute.

Today we reaffirm,
that promise of freedom.

From want.
From hunger.
From eyes without promise.

Today we also wish to reflect
On unfulfilled promises
On the proliferation of greed.
On the blurring of the ideals of freedom.

Today we say

We will take back the dream.
We will renew the promise.
We will not turn away.

Today we pledge
To stand firm
To keep the pressure turned on
To remind those in the corridors of power,
that we the people need to savor the fruits of the tree of freedom.

And till that time,
when all shall share in the bounty of democracy,

We shall remain vigilant,
and strong.

And we shall continue,
to struggle.

And to sing out loud,

"We shall overcome".


BIO:

Afzal Moolla was born in Delhi, India while his parents were in exile, fleeing Apartheid South Africa.
He then travelled wherever his parent's work took them and he still feels that he hasn't stopped travelling.
Afzal works and lives in Johannesburg, South Africa and shares his literary musings with his most strident critic - his 12 year old cat.