To Heinrich Poem by Gert Strydom

It’s been many years since
I brushed the red dust
in the bath from your feet
and saw the sweet tender look
in your eyes
placing me somewhere near to
the Lord God

and since I saw you play
you first Rugby match
and throw and catch
a spinning ball

since you progressed to receive
provincial colours, went to Craven week
and were always playing
in the first team
and everything is now like a dream

and at another person’s door
you see fatherhood
since you are not mine anymore
and life isn’t always fair
and always just what it seems

and you are set free
into your own reality
finding your own way
while you are out there searching for dignity
and becoming the man that I hope for you to be.

[Reference: Walking away by C Day Lewis.]