My Uncle Erskine Poem by Diana van den Berg

My uncle Erskine
from colder climes
these last fifty decades
and more
and now so far away
from me
in the Hereafter,
accept
with all my love
and my deepest understanding
this slice of Africa
my Africa
your Africa
our Africa
and the Africa
of thousands
upon thousands
upon thousands more
with its wide, wide skies
exploding with sunshine
spilling on tree
and waving grasses
and white buildings
gilded in celebration
of the new day
and blue, blue mountain crags
and lions
and leopards
and dragonflies
reflecting the colours of our beloved land
in translucent wings
remember
remember
when you galloped wildly
across the veld
on a farm
so very far away
so very long ago...

I miss,
tremulously,
the impassioned talks
we never had
of a land so missed
by you
so loved
by me
and I celebrate
and will forever remember
with sacred awe and quiet admiration
those precious Zulu words
that you remembered
at the age of ninety-seven
and that were wrapped
in poignant memories
and that you shared
with Zulu nurses
before you retired
to
a better place.