Poem: Christ’s Ascension

On this day, Christ ascended high
To the heavens, beyond our sky
His earthly mission complete
In glory, He takes His seat.

With open arms, He bids farewell,
To His disciples, who could tell
That His love would never cease
As they spread His message of peace.

In awe, they watched Him disappear
But in their heart, He would be near
Christ’s Ascension, a sacred sight,
Filling the world with eternal light.

(Author Unknown)

Poem: How the rain has travelled

I live where it's dry

I live as a day comes,

Till this day I still do try.

These are hardship times.

Down they fall like tears.

Down to the ground it is

The drops of rain,

Just as my tears of pain

Watering the floors of grain

"Will sunlit skies or storms remain?" 

Asked the ground as if I'm not grounded 

Is it proud or was I shed and dead?

These are the trying times 

Of how it travelled!

See?! this is a storm of growth !

For such poems talk and mumble 

Just as the clouds rolled in and rumbled. 

[Israel Xaba 5 May 2026 - click HERE to read more inspirational poems.]

Poem: To My Dearest Teacher

Many times I thought

you were wrong.

So many times I did not agree.

You open my eyes to see

that being wrong isn't bad.

In fact it is damn okay.

You taught me

not to be afraid

of feeling like I'm stupid,

because

I took an erroneous turn.

Thanks to you

I know no failure.

I just know how to learn.

[Sinazo] 

Poem: A Youth Day poem

The June 16th dawn, a somber hue,
Young hearts ablaze, a fearless view.
A march of hope, a vibrant call,
For freedom's dawn, standing tall.

Through streets of strife, they bravely trod,
Their voices raised, a faith in God.
A nation's dreams, a burning fire,
Fueled by their courage, reaching higher.

Though bullets flew, a chilling sound,
Their spirit soared, on hallowed ground.
A legacy forged, in blood and tears,
A lesson learned, through passing years.

Today we stand, in unity's embrace,
Inspired by them, with hopeful grace.
To build a future, strong and free,
For generations yet to be.

[Internet]

Poem: Look To This Day

Look to this day
For it is life, the very life of life.
In its brief course
Lie all the verities and realities of your existence.
The bliss of growth,
The glory of action,
The splendour of achievement
Are but experiences of time.

For yesterday is but a dream
And tomorrow is only a vision;
And today well-lived, makes
Yesterday a dream of happiness
And every tomorrow a vision of hope.
Look well therefore to this day;
Such is the salutation to the ever-new dawn!

[Kalidasa stands as a towering figure in Classical Indian Literature]

Cryer River

Not just a tear 

But a worst sight of fear

And not just a plea

But a hollow echo haunting me.

Cry me a river DEEP and WIDE

For all your 'memories' and mine

May it be DEEP and WIDE

For all shattered pictures of mine°

Cry me a river, bitter rain

For the taste is no longer the Same.

Let the banks erode and fall

With every memory I recall.

Cry me a river, dark and vast 

And let it be the mirror to the past

May it reflect shadows, cold and stark 

By the dark emptiness of your heart.

Cry me a river, let it flow

For pain is all I've known 

A vestige of unending grief.

A fragile heart that leaped beat.

The dampness deep 

Within my soul, will never sleep 

A silent will forever true

To the river I once cried for you. 

[Poet: Israel Xaba - click HERE to read more inspirational poems.]

Courageous Woman (Heart's Deep Tide)

Beneath the surface, where the heart's tides flow,

A quiet strength, a seed that dares to grow.

Not grand displays, nor battles fiercely won,

But whispered truths, where shadows softly run.

She wears no armor, forged in fiery blaze,

But carries scars, from life's intricate maze.

Each etched line, a story deeply told,

Of burdens borne, and spirits brave and bold.

She weeps in silence, when the world's asleep,

Where ancient sorrows, their dark vigil keep.

Yet, dawn's first light, finds courage in her eyes,

A resilience born, beneath weeping skies.

She builds her castles, not of stone and might,

But fragile hopes, that shimmer in the light.

Each tender brick, a dream she holds so dear,

A testament to conquering every fear.

She mends the broken, with a gentle hand,

A silent promise, in a troubled land.

She plants her flowers, where despair had reigned,

And nurtures life, where hope had been restrained.

She knows the weight of words that cut like steel,

The hollow echo, of what hearts conceal.

Yet, in her soul, a well of love resides,

A boundless grace, that forever guides.

She's the quiet whisper, in the storm's fierce roar,

The steady anchor, on a restless shore.

She's the hidden current, that shapes the ocean's sway,

The silent strength, that lights each passing day.

Courageous woman, let your spirit soar,

Unfurl your wings, and reach for something more.

For in the depths, where your true essence lies,

A heartfelt strength, that touches endless skies.

[Poet: Israel Xaba - click HERE to read another piece written by Israel called Extraordinary Women.]

Poem: The Fly

  The fly felt terrible as it flew around 

trapped in the car, Johannesburg bound.

  It hated the movement, the rolling on,

   sick to its stomach, it travelled on.

Stumbling, it flew from the back, to the front,

  to the side window, and into the trunk.

"Let me out, let me out, let me out!" it cried,

    holding its stomach, in surprise.

The car finally stopped. Its doors openend wide.

    Out flew the fly, with a huge sigh!

    "Never again will I venture inside,

 a moving vehicle that sways side to side."  

- Merril Wilson -

[Credits: Prince Albert Friend, Issue 318, September 2024, p. 12] 

Poem: Ass wee orl noe - Mary Peddie

There's a terrible absence of spelling

  In the ignorant world of today.

Perhaps people don't read, there's no telling,

  Or a robot has got in the way. 

It gives us a great deal to laugh at

  Though great irritation as well,

If you went to school in the old days

  You would also be able to tell. 

One can only laugh at translations.

  The robots are thick as short planks.

Some efforts are made to correct them

  But you'll never get any thanks.

    A century on from our era

Where wil reading and writing have gone?

    A dictionary in the museum?

 No! Bots will say that's all a con.

 The few humans left on the planet

Will have implants instead of a brain.

 But we needn't worry about it.

We're not coming this way again.

- Mary Peddie -

[Credits: Prince Albert Friend, Issue 318, September 2024, p. 11]

Poem: The Old Year

The Old Year’s gone away

  To nothingness and night: 

We cannot find him all the day 

  Nor hear him in the night: 

He left no footstep, mark or place 

  In either shade or sun: 

The last year he’d a neighbour’s face, 

  In this he’s known by none. 

All nothing everywhere: 

  Mists we on mornings see 

Have more of substance when they’re here 

  And more of form than he. 

He was a friend by every fire, 

  In every cot and hall— 

A guest to every heart’s desire, 

  And now he’s nought at all. 

Old papers thrown away, 

  Old garments cast aside, 

The talk of yesterday, 

  Are things identified; 

But time once torn away 

  No voices can recall: 

The eve of New Year’s Day
  Left the Old Year lost to all.

-John Clare 1793–1864-

[Click HERE for more info.]

Matrieks: Sterkte vir julle laaste eksamen

Hoër Tegniese Skool Welkom
In Welkom se hart, 'n bastion van leer,
Hoër Tegniese Skool, staan hoog en fier.
Waar kennis en vaardighede groei en bloei,
En jong geeste hul vlerke sprei en vlei.
In klaskamers en werkswinkels, 'n bedrywige bees,
Word toekomstige leiers en vakmanne gees.
Met hamer en beitel, soldeerbout en pen,
Word drome en ambisies hier bewaar en wen.
Van ingenieurs tot kunstenaars, 'n wye verskeidenheid,
Word hier opgelei, met passie en ywerheid.
'n Tuiste van innovasie en kreatiwiteit,
Waar elke leerder sy unieke potensiaal ontdek en verbreed.
Hoër Tegniese Skool Welkom, 'n bron van trots en vreugde,
Waar kennis en vaardighede vir die toekoms aangewend word.
'n Leërskare van geesdriftige jongmense,
Word hier voorberei om die wêreld te verower en te bemeester.

Matrics: Good luck for the NSC exams

Hoër Tegniese Skool Welkom
In Welkom se hart, 'n bastion van leer,
Hoër Tegniese Skool, staan hoog en fier.
A forge of minds, a crucible of skill,
Where dreams take flight and aspirations fulfill.
In workshops and classrooms, a buzzing hive,
Future leaders and craftsmen strive and thrive.
With hammer and chisel, soldering iron and pen,
Ambitions are nurtured, dreams are given wings to then.
From engineers to artists, a diverse array,
Are shaped and molded here, day by day.
A haven of innovation, a fount of creativity,
Where each learner discovers their unique capability.
Hoër Tegniese Skool Welkom, a source of pride and cheer,
Where knowledge and skills are honed year after year.
An army of eager, enthusiastic youth,
Are prepared here to conquer the world with truth.

Poem: Beauty - my queen

First time I saw you, I wouldn't believe my eyes

They laid on you, I couldn't move them

My whole body froze you are the one ...

My beauty, my queen!

I had never seen one like you

So beautiful, no one compares

A lady of my dreams, before my eyes

You, the one - my queen!

I rubbed my eyes with disbelief

Was it possible, an angel right here?

A heavenly rose on earth

The one - my queen!

Inside my dead heart, love blossomed

With a frozen body, my emotions ran high

And this, this was the end of celibacy

For you my queen, had arrived!

Like a diamond you shone

A well built lady, like no other

I had found someone to live for

For you my queen, had arrived

My lovely queen, had arrived!!

[Simon Seleteng: Universiteit van Pretoria, Taaibos-digbundel: Ontblotings Uitgawe 18 2003 p 37] 

More poems HERE  

Poem: Unwell

I smile to the world for it knows nothing
Of my cries nor it's thorns that hurt me.
It's trees are of beauty
For they attract many I see.

There they stood
And here they stay
For they are brawny
Rooted and Great

The wind is uncertain
For it's as my life, for I live as it comes
And reap solidity of coming times

In the heat of the star.
In such days I awake to win,
For in it comes delight
Where memories are made fun.

Why is it I speak by tears,
Accompanied by quavering voice?

Is it of the worlds spears or the thoughts of sly men?

For I have met many with gerund
Smiles and character
That dissemble motive.

Poem: Melody of the caged bird

I know nothing other than my cage land

For I only fly onto my master's lap.

It is of great joy that I sing day by day,

For at least he thinks I am his friend.

My wings know nothing about the wind

For they are only visited by the blade of 2 hand scissor.

I shout my cries day in day out,

For they never reach the ground.

I see the smile on my master each day I cry.

My shouts are of melody to his ears

As if he's deprived of sight.

For there only comes a time where I'll leave my land tranquil.

For it made me timid 

From amazing souls

Which never passed without saying "hello"

It's of irony 

They greet as if they are to stay,

For my heart palpitate as it hears this phrase.

I see grove of trees where birds build homes 

For I only sit on stick 

Sip on water and sink in seeds.

My melody is what they like 

For I have cried like tribes of Palestine 

Where posters are made and seen

But nothing is to be done for thee

Melody of the caged bird.

[Click HERE for some more poems.]

Poem: Juvenile

Time the ferocious swindler
That sits ticking on my hand
With every second that passes
Glides along my personable lad.

My Spring days are majestic,
With min friends I remain optimistic, 

of a future that is as young as I,
But soon changes by the hands of time.

Seconds into minutes my hunky appearance dwindle.
I resent the moments of sedentary, for time has saunterd
Into the land of sob and no laughter.
For now I witness fall by the scent of autumn.

And I can't return to the days
Of spring and laughter.
'Tomorrow' lie in the hands of juvenescence
For I wish it could be seen, like time on hand revolve on every hour.

[Israel Xaba: 16 June 2024]

[Click HERE for some more poems.]

Poem: Concrete wall

I now see you fall

How I had thought

That I've seen it all

Protected was I by the wall.

A wall which I never saw a scare at my side

A wall which seemed tall and precious at my side

A wall so strong that I've never seen it cry

Today I've seen a crowed at the other side

A crowed which was as young as I

Today I'm grown, I see it no longer tall

How depressing it is to see it's back

A back which had carried us all

Had scars of scratches even on its shoulders

How I wish somebody had told us

That this is a life ready for all of us

Had I known?

Or was I once told?

Or had I not feared the unknown?

That I will one day miss home.

A place that once felt warm.

Today I stand at the backside of the wall 

[Israel Xaba:  7 March 2024]

Click HERE for more poems.

English or Afrikaans

MY STORIES BEGIN AS LETTERS

My pen is my wonderland.

Word water in my hand.

In my pen is wonder ink.

Stories sing. Stories sink.

My stories loop. My stories stop.

My pen is my wonder mop.

Drink letters. Drink my ink.

My pen is blind. My stories blink.

Poem: High school

Growing up.
The next four years start here.
Take a deep breath as you walk through the doors.
Hear the feet pounding the floors.

Eyes are watching, everywhere.
Look at the seniors, we wouldn't dare.
Talk to old friends, the pressure ends there.

Decisions and choices, always in the way.
Affecting your future, day by day.
New things to learn, always a delay.

Stressful schoolwork and pressure to try.
They say always give 110%, but you just ask why?
Overwhelming, bored...you just want to cry.

Sports, pressuring you to do your best.
But you know you will never be as good as the rest.
Everything here is always a test.

They say these years will be the best years of our lives,
but others may think it's just another few years of throwing knives.

So hold onto the memories already made,
because soon it will all fade.

[Published: November 2012 © Nikii]

Source: https://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/highschool

[Thank you, Thabo, for sharing this with us.]

Tekkies' own poet on world poetry day!!

I will seek light within darkness 

Like fruit from trees in the autumn season

Or the flower that emerges from concrete

I shall water the seeds

and  thirst if needs be 

For the fruits I shall reap

Are far beyond what the eyes can see 

(Mohapi Die - 21 March 2021)