2010/07/17 Compassion Poem by Margaret Alice

Sitting in icy cold in a deep dark place, no
hope of escape, typing in frozen resignation
black words conjuring images of despair and
death, Siyanda Municipality demanding levies
while neglecting to maintain roads between
Kakamas and Riemvasmaak

Road deaths proliferating, Namaqualand’s
newspaper reporting on the death toll of the
nightmare road to death, from Gordonia to
Kuruman people talk about the bad dirt road
while Siyanda insists on levies, Omdraai and
Sonvallei must pay for non-service-delivery

Valentin, Vaaldrif, Bakenrant and Oorkant all
pay to maintain the road themselves, yet the
district municipality requires levies for their
non-service existence – it is cold, nobody is
listening, nobody cares about Keimoes roads
in the North-Western Cape

People from Verneukpan and Boegoebergdam,
Kombersbrand and Putsonderwater have to fend
for themselves; I am sitting in an icy hell reading
devilish messages about incompetence and lack
of service sending people to their death and I
wonder what am I still doing here

on earth - where we experience hellish conditions
teaching us the difference from heaven which is
created through compassion for our
fellowmen…