Heaven Help Us (Rhyming Double Sestina) Poem by Gert Strydom

1
You are in my heartbeat and in my breath
and every though and little thing remind me of you
while God have brought our lives on the same way
and I do want to love you past the portals of death,
do remember you in everything that I do.
Our love is as vivid and alive as the sun
while I do miss you throughout each day,
but at night you lie so close to me in bed
and with you I am from my self-doubts free
as with you every other female to me is dead
and with you a new exciting life has begun
while you do tell me that you do truly love me.
2
Suddenly a deadly virus does threaten you and me.
It could be on another person's breath
and after months the world is not from it free,
where everyone knows it did in China begun.
Far too easily it does spread illness and death,
life is twisted to sorrowful day after sorrowful day
and daily I pray that God will protect you,
do miss you when at night I am alone in my bed,
do wish that life could be another way
while far too many people are from the virus dead
and dismal seems even the winter sun
while heartless become the things that I do.
3
Locked-down restrained I am now in what I do
while apart you do live away from me
and I long and miss you with each rising sun,
while I pray that you will be protected from death
that God will walk right beside you on each day.
Your personality and beauty takes away my breath
and I want to again be with you
while away from me you are on your own way
and all our dreams of yesterday are dead,
where from restrictions not a person is free
and I recall the day where our love begun,
do dream about you when I sleep in my bed.
4
This morning I could smell you in my bed,
thought of making you happy in each thing that I do,
knew that without you it will be another lonely day,
and I felt death's presence with the bloody-red sun,
where the news was full of an explosion and of death
and this brought great sorrow and heartache to me
where a family member and friend is from this virus dead
and she had been also very special to you
but this is now destiny and life's way
where from the time of Adam evil things had begun,
but everything was perfect with his first breath
but after a wrong choice life was of heartache not free.
5
The UN says that from the virus we may never be free
and from a nightmare soaked with sweat is my whole bed
but over my face lingers rays of the bright sun.
I dreamt about the Bush-War and soldiers that are dead
and that strange smell of spilled blood was on every breath
but that events happened long before I did meet you,
where in the military I had to spend day after day,
did have to face the enemy with havoc and death.
To stay alive there had been no other way
where this did completely change me,
did even have a impact on the things that I do
where not from my choice that war and its devastation begun.
6
With basic-training compulsory military service begun
and for two years and from camps after that I was not free.
I remember running up and down under a scorching sun,
how we were trained to kill to make others dead,
to just follow the training when we were facing death
and I wish that then I had known you,
where far too rapid went every single day
and at times with exercise painful was each breath
but those harsh times did only strengthen me
and like a rock I slept on the military bed,
did not even worry about the next things we would do
and civilian life seemed a very different way.
7
Years later I traveled in another adjacent parallel way
when the explosion in Church \Street, Pretoria, begun.
I knew I had to return to HF Verwoerd Hospital on that day,
that it would be filled from bed to bed
and the lives of others, not my job, mattered to me,
while a strange explosive smell was on every breath.
(I now wish the girl I wanted to treat were you.)
There were so many people shattered, broken and dead,
Filling out disaster-cards was all I could do
and too many innocent people were killed under an autumn-sun.
How I wished that those twisted people were from the explosion free,
innocent children did not have to meet such a terrible death.
8
Now commercial farmers continually do face death
as if to kill them are to some people the way
and from corruption and ineptness the country is not free
while some people work as if another day will come with the sun
and not to the best of their ability their work they do.
It's as if all previous principles are to them dead,
as if true laziness is inhaled with each breathe,
into the ground the country goes day by damned day
and this seems like a kind of robbery to me,
where I wonder where this state of affairs begun,
while people go to work and again to bed
and this has an impact on every citizen and on you.
9
With BEE and Affirmative Action no future I can give you,
where my career as an accountant did face a premature death
and there is nothing to turn things back that I can do.
The smells of decay is on every breath
while to a future there seems to be no kind of way.
Some others have it worse and do not have food or a bed,
where as beggars at traffic lights they stand each day,
where their previous life is now completely dead
and from poverty they will never be free
and with a new regime their devastation had begun.
A man, woman, child and dog living on the street bothers me
where to some people there is no place under the sun.
10
Before history you shone like the sun,
until iniquity was found in you,
from jealousy and haughtiness you were not free
and at a time you were perfect in every way
but Lucifer, with deceit and hatred you made your bed,
lies, twisted truths and impudence was on your breath,
you have brought pain and sorrow to each day,
Even as an angel of light still evil you do
and beyond you are the tracts of too many dead
but the Son of God you could not bound with death
and with His arising liberty to all begun
and He is the only Christ and only savior to me/
11
This Corona-virus is a Satanic attack to me
and there is new hope with the rising sun.
I pray at night even when I am in bed,
that God will protect humanity from death,
that He will walk ahead on the way,
that He will accompany me in all that I do,
that He will bring liberty and set all men free
that at His time He will raise the righteous dead,
that He will strengthen my love for you,
that He will again blow in the living breath,
and where a deadly virus had begun
I know that He still saves people on each day.
12
My Lord, You are with me on every day,
wherever I go You do accompany me
and You are to my life like the sun,
You do lead me on the only true way,
do pick me up and do set me from sin free
and You knew me before my life begun.
You do notice everything that I do,
know even the dreams I have in my bed
and should I enter death,
then still with first sight I will find You
and for an army You had awakened the dead,
there is much more than life in your words and breath.
13
l'Envoi
My Lord, You know me and You know each of the dead,
do hear each prayer in my bed and from bounds make all men free,
anew Your mercy comes each day, You do guard against death,
in You all men find the way while You are brighter than the sun,
in You love is selflessly true and You give to the weary new breath.
Before history selfless Your love begun and it's present in all that You do.

[Poet's notes: " I found a example of a double rhyming sestina in the poem: "The complaint of Lisa, " by Algernon Charles Swinburne.
BEE is Black Economic Empowerment.]