The White Farmer

I am fed up! Yes, to sign petitions, to read day in and day out about the vicious and brutal attacks, killings and murders of South Africans and in particular, the white farmers! It’s not always I feel like this, but after reading about more brutal attacks tonight, yes tonight at Hopewell, I felt like crying – and the very young couple, with a month old baby, how they were murdered and tortured! This is my poem based on the very famous poem of Ingrid Jonker: The Child! (Face book has some pages with entries about the killings – ask me links and I can drop it in the comments box. Nothing is made-up about places and events.)

The White Farmer

The white farmer is not dead
at Hopewell nor at Port Elizabeth
not at Kimberley nor at Brits
where he lies with an ax in his head.

The white farmer is the dark shadow of the ANC
on guard with pangas, axes, rifles, guns
and kitchen irons, ready to brutally burn and torture farmer and wife
the white farmer is present at all food markets, charities and schools for black children
the white farmer peers through the hearts of EVERYONE
this white farmer just wanted to feed the whole nation
of South Africa, black and white
the white farmer is brave and a refugee in a whole world
that turned a blind eye.

The white farmer is not dead
at Sabie and Lydenburg nor at Tzaneen
not at Uitenhage nor at Randfontein
where he lies with a bullet in his head
and his wife tied to a chair.

This white farmer supported the community
in every way he could by sharing his belongings with his black workers
on the farm as well as in his shop but laid
dead in his house, brutally murdered by one of those…
in a world where leaders are turning a blind eye!

Nikita (24/8/2018)