I like you

I don’t like you
Because
You are White
I like you for
Celebrating kindness
A loving nature
Free spirited
True believer
Enabling liberator
Soul protector
Living
Vector

I don’t like you
Because
You are of mixed descent or so-called coloured
I like you for
Sharing loyalty
Unrelenting tenacity
Support never-ending
Challenger unbending
Soul mirror
Opinionated
Reverberator

I don’t like you
Because
You are black
I like you for
Positive energy
Challenging my thinking
Questioning instincts
Collectivist tinkering
Bouncing negativity
Capturing true inner voices
Respectfully

I don’t like you
Because
You are Asian
I like you for
Love radiating
Mind challenges concentrating
Laughter celebrating
Earth principles protecting
‘Being the change’
Philosophically pulsating
Living
Congruently

Under Apartheid racial classification casted South Africans into these four categories or racial groupings, White, So-called Coloured, Black and Asian. for me there is the HUMAN RACE and I was lucky to learn very early in life that the statute books and society does not have to decide how I like or dislike people. Being rude, lazy or disrespectful are some of the things that can motivate liking or disliking. The piece was inspired by a discussion with a true friend and mentor in the context of moving on from the mental trappings of racist societies. This one is for Dawn, Patricia, Khanysani, Meghan and Siyamthanda. A celebration of all the BORN FREE’s -- you don’t have to nurture the ideological trappings of society. I love you. Quoting Mahatma Ghandi 'Being the change you want to see'.

Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2011-08-25.

Insignificance Accepted

If we had to live our lives
The size of a postage stamp
Will there be
An expectation to achieve less
Will we feel
More blessed with fewer possessions
Bitter life lessons

If we had to live our lives
Like a slice of bread
Will there be
Enough to quench an immediate hunger
Will we feel
Satisfied with it dry
Or continuously of hunger cry

If we had to live our lives
With one change of clothes
Will there be
An expectation to keep it clean
Will we feel
Well attired
At every occasion high powered

If we had to live our lives
In the shoes of another soul free
Will there be
An expectation to do all the sad jobs
Will we feel
We have achieved
Earning but a pittance for good deeds

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2011-08-24

Motherhood

I wish we could have the gift
Of special complete recall
Every laugh
Bright remark
Silly game we played
Overriding all the conflicting times
Growing children
The best to celebrate
In moments and memories exceptional
Our lives
A special bond
Sheltered

Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2011-08-23

Be proud

Be proud
Beautiful daughter
Talent nurtured
Outspoken
More lessons to learn
New ideas explored
Life waiting
Taking care
Development holistic
Dreams realistic
Choosing paths
Less fatalistic
Coming-of-age
Just a small step
A critical stage
Obliterating rage
Nurturing self-worth
Every day’s worth living

For Dawn, Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 20111-08-23.

Sisters Knitting

At around five
My big sister decided
I needed to learn how to read
Crochet and knitting
Became part of the deal
Over the years
A love of books grew
Little needles hooked
Caps green and gold
Primary school of old
Jumble jerseys in the mix
Endless pairs of fuzzy sox
Provided well needed therapy
An escape from going crazy
Paying forward free

Now around forty-five
My baby-sister
Plays with me
In virtual reality
We have a knitting bee
Surfing patterns on the net
Casting on and off
Ripping up small mistakes
This humble endowment
Keeps on giving
Charity bin needles pointy
Cotton tangles can any project
To useless items wrangle
Creative creations
A collective dare
Valued
This gift from sister Care

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2011-08-22

Small Mercies

Crispy cucumbers
Fresh tomatoes
Spinach
Picked in the rain
Apples
Sour-sweet
Fragrant herbs
Late blooms
Summer’s gifts
Cherished

Welcome rainstorms
Seed banks fed
Squirrels
Collecting every morsel
They can get
The pond to a birdbath transformed
A season’s end
Quietly savoured

Sunlight dances through thunderclouds
Bright stars hiding in the dark
Daylight valued more than gold
Change lines
Swollen hands
Minor reminders
Happiness captured
More than passing fazes
Tumbling in the grass
Skipping in the dust
Memories of the fun that once was
Constantly celebrated

Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2011-08-21

Full circle

Three seconds
Three minutes
Three months
All she had
A precious gift
To her family
Taken away
Before
She could grow old
A perfect impression
Will last forever
I never knew her name
My sympathy
With her mother remains

Twenty-one seconds
Twenty and one minutes
Twenty-one months
Almost
Twenty-one years
We shared his existence
A precious gift
To a wide family
Taken away
Before
Maturing wisdom teeth
Growing old bones
Bright impressions
Will last forever
I never knew his final dreams
My sympathy
With the family remains

Full circle
Lives long and short
Gravestone
Evidence
Quite ironic
Believers or not
Lifecycles
Travelled
Alone
In crowds
Empty Hospital corridors
Dawn beach walks
Behind cascading mountain waterfalls
Inside
Burgeoning wild summer bulbs
Orchids tender
We all someday have to
Surrender

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2011-08-20. For Lynn Jardine and her family in the memory of her late baby daughter who died and three months and the Family Noemdoe in the memory of Augustine Noemdoe who lived until one hour before his 21st birthday.

Strength

We count our strength
In numbers
Standing up
Collectively
Overcoming
Grief
Pain
Connected
In family
No shame

We count our wealth
In silver coins
Saved
Nest eggs
Secret buffers
Against suffering
In numbers collated
Life loss
Can never be
Compensated

We count our hurting
In sad events
Bad choices
Lonely
Repentant
Forgiveness
A gift
Resplendent
Score
Not nurtured by numbness
Solidarity offers
Communal strength
Incumbent

Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2011-08-19

Lingering Ideas

I have to dig
Deep inside
Sound inspiration
Ideas new find
Stuck
A mind
Like a memory chest
Language percolated
Knitting and sewing
Projects pre-occupied
Wordsmithing
Pushed
To the days’ edge

Pushed
To life’s edge
Breathing
Drawn to the play-box
Collecting memories
In a treasure chest
Day to day
We seldom
Have time to reflect
Occasionally
Our minds come to rest
Survival
Greater than an idea kind

Survival
Embracing every day
Life’s gift
Calls me out to play
Sunshine bright
During thunderstorm rain
Spring, Summer, Autumn
In one day
Dark clouds
Fail to linger
Often
Praise songs
Washes away
Lingering heartaches
Mourning pain

Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2011-08-18

Change

Clean washing on the line
A kitchen sink washed and shined
Chicken curry remnants
Promises a delicious leftover lunch
Another day
Closer to the end of summer
Spring promised
In another place
The start of a friend’s New Year
Living in a shared universe

A full moon waning
Twin foxes on the hunt
Everyday changes
Reality confronted
Night and day
Space to grow and play
A paraphrased Bible
In the charity shop for sale
Create room for reflection, prayer
More than a chore or dare

Somewhere
Everywhere
Transformations occur
Living and dying
Integral to a natural chain of events
Sadness
Joy
Pain
Hope
All visit in little waves
Moving tides
Happens
Again and again

Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2011-08-17

Opportunity

We are always
Looking
For the best
Opportunities
Decisions made
By someone else
Impacts
Life
Seldom
Neat and compact

We are always
Dealing
With reality
Opportunities
Grabbed when seen
Decisions made
On the cusp of the moment
Choices nurtured
In good omens

We are always
Wondering
What the alternative
Opportunities
Could offer
Away from the current situation free
Decisions made
Planned with meaning
Living, dreaming
Every day closer
Idealistically

Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2011-08-16

Moving Forward

Keeping Up

An active mind
Chases ahead
Idealistic paths mapped
Every so often
In high expectations trapped
More than living in the moment
We cannot do
Everyday
Becomes a lifetime
Soon

Before long
Everyday a lifetime
Accumulated pain
Collected in baskets
Woven with laughter
Chasing the sun in the shadows
Life all about
Ups and downs
With special moments we are crowned

In split seconds
We make memories to keep
Chasing pain
To the scrapheap
New seeds grow
Amongst fallen trees
Watered with tears
The living weep
Progressively from misery
We creep

Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2011-08-15

Sadness Captured

Fear Foretold

Melancholy pervades
News from home
Uneasy
Acceptance of visions foretelling
A worried heart
Captured fear and dread
Constantly suppressing the urge to fret
Cautiously
These visions close kept
Distance
Could not
Premonitions suppress
Sad, sad, sad news
Calls for renewed
Attention to prayer

Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2011-08-14

Death Unexpected
The least expected family
Affected
Death
Like a thief in the night
Ripped
A beloved son away
Siblings
With sadness
Remain

The stronger family
Affected
Crushed
The uninvited guest
Himself at home made
Leaving an empty space
Vacant shoes
Unopened books
Suddenly
Settled in a higher place
Meeting our maker
A reality we all face

The well prepared family
Affected
Nothing will ever be the same
August 13th
On the calendar remains
Like memories
Collected in a chain
Bound by blood
Children will always
In the hearts of parents
This status retain

Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2011-08-14

Ill Prepared

Unqualified
I always want to be
In the task of burying
The daughter
Borne of me

Unqualified
I want to remain
In the skill of feeling no grief
Death close
Should always affect me

Unqualified
I will gladly be
In mourning without tears
Sobs should shatter my soul
Living through this process -- makes me whole

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2011-08-14

Hope

Joy
The organist
Conjures
Music composed foreign
A language
Captured
Universal
Craftsmanship
Cherished
Without such beauty
Humanity could perish

Warmth
The congregation
Radiates
Silent communion
Locked in thought
Life in high and low tones
Extort
Our inner likeness
A gift from God
Peace and tranquility
With busy-ness traded
Spirituality
Beyond four walls
Transcended

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2011-08-14. Thank you to the Bälinge Kyrka and Gunnar Englund for the Barock Organ concert.

A Sad Refrain

Twenty four hours ago I contemplated the content of this blog -- what to say at the end of a busy day? This and that, nothing concrete or even complete. Easily I slip into a pond of self pity, some intellectual situation replete. Now, almost twenty four hours later… I write with a sad exhortation. Another young one has sung his last refrain. The rest of us will have to cherish his memory as fewer of us will also gradually remain.

The full moon
Looks at me
In patches below
Mist casts a shadow
Like this ache
I can’t explain
One loss
Less meaning
Only immediate
Pain

The full moon
All revealed
Flashbacks
Casts a brightening spell
Others could
Possibly have fallen
One loss
More meaning
Their lives remain

A full moon
Raw emotions borne
A reluctant falling star
Caste a glimmer of hope
How on earth can we cope
An angels’ work never complete
Each night we have to sleep
One loss
Greater meaning
Every waking day calls for a renewed belief

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe for Augustine Noemdoe -- Born 1990-08-13 , Died 2011-08-13. You gave us all of you and we appreciated your love and gentle nature.

Daily Musings

Thinking…

Vibrant red geraniums
Welcomes me
Their fragrance
Gives a sense of place
Home sweet and safe

Bright the light of a falling star
My wish your happiness
Daughter afar
Your life worth more to me
Than the embers of a terrestrial being

Yellow and green leaves compete
Collecting the last of the summer sun free
Soon the darkness will descend
Appreciating the full moon
All the hope it brings

Constant the search within
What gifts to this earth
I bring
Writing lines of words amongst other things
Does what I do define my being?

Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2011-08-12

Contemplation

Summer’s bounty
Excites me
Apples crisp and fresh
Potatoes multiplied by ten
Another day
Gone again
Closer and closer
Winter creeps
Its arrival
I cannot be told
Exactly when

Winter’s bounty
Rouses me
Snow crisp and white
Icicles crystal clear
A full moon
Capturing midnight fears
Snowball fights
Lingering
Mock cheer
Every moment
It creeps nearer and nearer
Another day fixed
Towards the end of another year

By Simone Beartrice Naik Noemdoe, 2011-08-11

Do not mistake me
Do not mistake me
A writer I’m not
Just an author
Attempting to capture
A light plot
Language
One gift
I accidentally got

Do not mistake me
A gardener I’m not
Just a potato harvester
Attempting to capture
Earth’s bounty
One watering can at a time
Growing cabbages for the slugs
The occasional carrot crunchy
Mud under my fingernails
A clue about whence I hail

Do not mistake me
A cook I’m not
Just a keeper of flavour and tastes
Attempting to capture
Love and meaning
That satisfied feeling
Shared with family and friends
Experimenting
Will never come to an end
Africa and Asia
My special blend
Sweet and sour often
Best companions in the end

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2011-08-11

Spirited

Colours captured in perfect craftsmanship
Cathedral stained glass windows
Opens my mind
Arrest my desire to nurture beauty
Daily worship
More love than duty

Love captured in faultless mastery
Souls nurtured in communion
Every angle of the light fosters transformation
Belief systems
Bonds more than nations
Freedom of choice means this will be always be
One of my favourite places



Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2+11-08-10

Simple Abundance

I dare to celebrate
Simple abundance
Enjoying
The value of great care
Distribute more than
Small change to spare
Offer fundamental love to share
Dare to live every breath
Wake up a precious gift
Laying hatchets to rest
Bury pain in a victory chest
Communion
A gift blessed
Sometimes
Money can be
Separated from the rest

Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2011-08-09

Refuge
A sewing room
Can be my refuge
Cutting squires
Building blocks
Counting rows
Easily
Obliterate mistakes
Patch ideas
Review craft news
Wear things
I created with cheer
Frustrated seems
Torn apart
Bright colours
Capture in my heart

A kitchen
Can be my refuge
Chopping fruit and veg
Baking cakes
Counting minutes
Easily
Obliterate mistakes
New configurations
Stew
Congregate
Guests around a simple feast
Scrub stubborn bottoms
Firing
Herbs and spices
Life more flavoured
Special memories
Savoured

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2011-08-09

A Woman’s Pride
I am proud to be a woman
Mother
Partner
Nurturer
Laughing
Living
Crying
Caring

I am proud to be a woman
Leader
Worker
Follower
Agitator
Protester
Defender
Poor pretender

Am proud to be a woman
Soul sister
Conscientious
Unpretentious
Down to earth
Sometimes loud
Occasionally shy
...
Being a man
I will never
Give a try

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2011-08-09

Women Celebrated

August 9th is National Women's Day in South Africa. This, National Women's Month, will be marked by many activities to celebrate women. Grandmothers, Mothers, daughters, granddaughters. All celebrated. There will be national events, local activities punctuated with seminars, papers, concerts, tea parties and many more activities. For me, and many more it is a bittersweet celebration. Despite the battles, pain, losses and all the gains, women are vulnerable in their homes and communities. We are still considered as property... slaves and .... At the same time I want to celebrate all our victories! I want to celebrate all the good women who are making major sacrifices to make a difference for all the women following.

Women’s Freedom – Keeping Score
Seventeen
Winters’ of freedom
Celebrated
Another
National Women’s Day
Commemorated
More women in high places
Poverty
Still
Spilling from the usual
Spaces

Seventeen
Spring’s of freedom
Observed
Another
Sixteen Days of Activism
Pending
More women victims in hazardous alleys
Insecurity
Still
Lurking inside supposedly
Safe places

Seventeen
Summer’s of freedom
Anticipated
More girl mothers
Expecting
Fewer fair job opportunities going
Volatility
Still
Courting escalating
Inequality

Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2011-08-08

Pain
Thousand’s still have to shit in plastic bags
Others sell the bodies for bread and shelter
Our freedom
Was supposed to wipe away the hardship
National Women’s’ Day we have earned
Bread and butter battles less recognized
Our victories by too many unsolved rape cases
Overshadowed
Freedom on paper
Still to be translated to total emancipation

Celebration
I celebrate
National Women’s Day
On behalf of every girl child
All young women
Intelligent
Kind
Caring
Diligent
Every fallen Shero
Your sacrifice
Made me free
Let us Reclaim
Our country
Our legacy!

Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2011-08-08

Moments

Every moment
We are celebrated
Inhale
Exhale
Each breath
A precious gift
Growing older
Discovering the mysterious
Exploring the familiar
Banking the known
Surety
Never
Guaranteed

We are feted
In small circles
Interrelated
Distracted
Each action
Movement inspiring
Nothing ever insipid
Situations increasingly
Intricate
Even the best intensions
Suffers elements of neglect
Moments of success
Only in time
Expressed

We are alive
Happiness celebrated
Frustrations
Progressively
Obliterated
Commitments
Always
Obligated
Mindfulness
Moments constant
Co-existence
More than a
Social construct
Another day
In the lifecycle

Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2011-08-07

Poverty at Bay

Poverty
Crushed us all
In small spaces
Now
We live
Continents apart
Comfortable places
Trading
Memories
Family recipes
Silly jokes
Little snippets
Of private gossip
Occasionally
Chattering
Non-stop

Poverty
Taught us all
Resilience
Applied labour
Seldom relying
Only on expected
Brilliance
Humility
A sharp sense of community
Chasing success
Displaying
Modest
Tenacity
Bywoner status
No longer
Our reality

Poverty
Kept us all
Closely connected
Solidarity
A commonality
Mostly
Avoiding
Major calamities
Burying
Losses
Celebrating
Victories
Survival
Less dependent on
Inheritance
False vanity
Rising above
Indigent labels
Casually
Courting
Survivalist's dignity

Bywoner means tenant in Afrikaans.

Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2011-08-06

Savouring Summer

Slowly
Summer
Fades away
Ants gather
All they can
In my mind
Birds
Congregate and plan
Harvesting
The best on offer
It makes me wonder
If they
Really are
As free
Like they
Seem to me

Fast
I try to capture
All the light
Chase away
Bad dreams
In the dead of night
Toast
My skin golden brown
Smile and laugh
Savouring
Gathered bright delights
Every season older
Anticipating
Winter arriving
Much colder

Gradually
Acceptance
Mother earth
Will me
Protect
Warm soul confident
Autumn
Promising celebration
Confetti leaf-rain
Yellow, red and brown
Cascade
Dark skies
Hybernate
Life slowly wakes
Spring
Wild and merry
Savouring
Next summer’s colour promise
Lovely
Succulent
Deep red berries

Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2011-08-05

Walled Reluctant Writer

There was a time when washing windows and floors were part of my weekly chore routine. Crying, figthing, feigning illness, all my best tricks to get out of these tasks never worked. It only took longer to get it done! Today, I washed the windows and the floors, it had to be done, but it became a selective chore over writing. Once again, close to midnight and I have to come with something original. Since my brain seems to still appreciate the summer break, I offer more pictures for light relief.

Stone Wall Fascination
Graveyard walls
Gather moss
Soul's at rest
Winter's surviving
Summer's thriving
Keeping
Mourners in
Grave-robbers out
Tended
Over decades
It will outlive me
This
I’m sure
As existing



Farmyard walls
Gather moss
Seasons’
Soul saving
Summer’s shade
Winter’s shelter
Sheep in
Foxes out
Tended
Over decades
Owner’s outlived
This
I’m sure
As livelihood are made



Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2011-08-04

Summer Pictures

Today
The deadline
Is here...
Whilst
Words
Run away from me
Pictures
Will tell
Some of the summer scenes
My camera sees
Bells and keys
Sunsets
Free





Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2011-08-03

Planning

If someone told me when I was a child that life’s journey is seldom a path you can foretell, I would most probably not have believed them. Things were so sure and in place, even when 'in place' was a view over the onderdeur (bottom half of stable door, our only door at the time) and the first spot from where I learnt to tell the time on the church tower. I should have realised then already we moved from there and as part of growing up I learnt to move, deal with death, make new friends and now... with lots of grey hair, I still sometimes yearn for things to be 'sure' and 'safe'.

Manifesto

Some hours on my hands
Gave me a chance
To write
A plan-of-action
What to do
Over the next
Year or more
Daily tasks
Keeping score
Fighting time
Delivering ‘products’
Reading up-to-date
Shy of becoming
A gossip and bore

Some years under my belt
Experience good and bad
Poor decisions sad
Happy moments
In snapshots captured
Senses
With simple flavours enraptured
Climbing trees
Nurtured
Scraped knees
No notebook
Can ever
Trap these

Some worries on my mind
Will I
A final place of peace
In this world find
Love and grace
In heart and soul a place
Offspring
Beat the growing race
Elders
Accept my grown-up fate
Life
Dreams
Wishes
Still have in every heart
A place

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2011-08-02

Time Passes

Posting a daily blog is what I set myself to do earlier this year. I have lapsed for a few months, but the writing has not completely stopped. Work, the summer vacation and lack of discipline can be all the excuses that can be used to coat the idea that I have let myself and you down. Time to get back on the horse or better still, pounding the keyboard…

Memory Lane
Sometimes
We were woken
At six am
To pick
The weekly order
After classes
During the school holidays
The itchy leaves
Seldom tickled
Green beans
Better fresh
Than pickled

Today
Memories made
The last of the summer crop
Picked
Green beans in the hothouse
Carefully nurtured
Collected sweet and tender
Growing old
With memories laboured
Seeking the familiar
Sometimes
Living is celebrating
Earth’s gifts that keep on giving

Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2011-08-01

Positivity
A positive disposition
Something
I dream about
No emotional
Displacement
Free as a bird
Fluttering about
An inner calm
Stability
No doubts

A positive admission
Is what it’s about
Clear thinking
I chase
Day in and out
Living
Beyond clichés
Ideas to trust
An idealistic dreamer
Always lurking in my heart

A positive approach
The middle way
No doubt
Every breath
Present
Often tough
Time travel
Returning cycles
Seeing the trees for the wood
Still
Needs a lifetime forgiveness
Love

Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2011-07-25

Mind Movement
We sink and swim
From time to time
Just managing
Heartache and pain
Like the waves
Lapping at the shores
Love
Sometimes
A battle worth more

We strive and excel
From time to time
More than just managing
Laughter and happiness
An embalming breeze
Waving worries away
Love
The precious gift
Building
A true self core

Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, Finished on 2011-07-30.

Open and Closed

Greetings from a wet and slightly cold Skuttunge. It feels a bit like autumn decided to jump the best of summer. Open and closed doors seem to be the narrative of all our lives at some point in our existence. Currently our ‘back’ door functions as our ‘front' door. In Afrikaans there is an expression that goes like ‘uninvited guests should stand behind the door'. Life is sometimes about knocking twice or walking away. I'm sharing a piece written with a light idea in mind...

Back Doors

Back doors
Are good things
Letting the great in
Often
A useful escape
Letting boredom out

Back doors
Are crazy things
Letting the uninvited in
Often
A useful gap
Letting the trapped out

Back doors
Are sweet things
Letting the fun in
Often
A soul saving trick
Letting new ideas break old visions fake

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2011-06-23

Mid-Summer Solstice

Apologies for the long silence! During the last 22 days much welcomed work opportunities and some connectivity issues, meant that the notebook and pen was busier than the keyboard. Yesterday we had the shortest night and I know down south the longest night was certainly a typical winter offering. For us the darkness was brief and it still fascinates me. The garden is doing well with even the indoor Lemonella tree promising a good crop of flowers! The apple trees are full and I hope that we will share (with the local wildlife) some of the berries that are just a green promise right now!

Posted today are pieces… everyday challenges in parenting and dealing with loss. Over the next few days I will also share some of the pieces I wrote during the 4th European Conference on African Studies.

Living Wishes – a memorial

Scatter my ashes
To the wind
No need to flowers
At the graveside bring
A wish with disdain
For I cannot be there
To bring her some
A mother
Long relieved of her pain

Scatter my wishes
To the wind
No need to fulfil it
A legacy to fruition bring
Riches beyond words
I cannot give
Small wisdoms
That will hopefully
Not sting

Scatter my life
In your memories
Crazy, fun and serious
Long lost moments delirious
Everyone’s life
Offers some detritus
To the departed
Living
Most mattered

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 19 June 2011, the 13th Commemoration of the death of Sophia Naik (Nee Michaels) 1942-1998.

If Only

If only
Children
Were made in China
We could blame
Globalisation
When things went wrong
Or
Toss them on the scrap heap
Go out and trawl the mall
To buy
More

If only
Parents
Were made in China
We could blame
Outsourcing
When things go wrong
Or
Be taken apart
When removed from the triple plastic wrapping
Quickly reconfigured
Like a fake Lego Doll

If only
Living
Came with a lifetime guarantee
Home grown solid
No need to replace any parts
The heart of hearts
Four-of-a-kind like a deck of cards
Fragile like shattered glass
Smooth and rough edges
Existing, riddled with pledges
Parenting filled with pleasures
Growing pains make good legends
Only flesh and bones
Comes with soul

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, June 7, 2011.

Keeping Busy

Herewith I offer a short update on the latest in my universe. After visiting Valencia, Spain we came home to a windy Uppsala. The sun is glorious enough to see the seedlings coming up and the potatoes making swift progress. I continue experimenting with the garden and the herbs are doing well. It is certainly a culinary delight to collect fresh oregano for the salads.

During the first half of last week I attended the Challenging (Un)certainties The Future of Education and Sustainability Conference hosted by CEMUS, CSD at Uppsala University. (There are a number of pieces waiting for electronic capture and hopefully enough to make up for every day I did not post). I am captured by ideas or catch phrases captured in the corners of my notebook. 'The ecology of money', 'the de'growth movement'... I certainly have to explore these concepts... more learning!

Don't play
Innocent
In the climate game
We are all tainted
Global Environmental systems
Not the perfect
Picture
Life sustainability
Rife with disparity

Don't play
Unfairly
In the societal development game
Physics progressive
In economics the game remains the same
Assumptions always at play
Disciplinary bipolarity
Knowledge hunters
Never stop
Battling for clarity

Don't play
All knowing
Critical thinking
Gradually showing
New concepts blinking
The academic endeavour
Pristine - Never
Dissenting voices growing
Grassroots offering now choices
Traditional to conventional
Society always caught on the back leg

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, May 23, 2011

Going Local

Easily
Picked up
The rhythm of this city
Language no barrier
A polite smile
Matters quickly handled
Like the basket in the supermarket
Sporting
A shopping plastic carrier
Going local
A challenge
Less precarious

Easily
Enjoyed
The good weather
Everyone
Minding their own business
Locals and visitors
Relaxed
No evidence of a lingering
Inquisitor
Spring sun
Bring laughter to the soul
Gradual equilibrium


By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, May 18, 2011.

Roaming

Valencia

The old city gate
No longer marks
An entrance portal
Instead
It is a sentry
In a roundabout
Still kept
A cross intact
Warding off
Evil

The Cathedral steeple
Rises above
Midday traffic noise
Ask not
For whom
The bell tolls the hour
Belief
Still
In your
Power

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, May 18, 2011

My love affair with this city continues even after stubbing my toe on one of the granite blocks on the sidewalk! One has to appreciate a city that is alive at noon and midnight. Where you feel safe to enjoy a stroll in the park and appreciate orange blossoms and lively fountains, cyclists and the buzzing energy of the restoration of old buildings side-by-side with the development of new homes.

A Change of Scene

Greetings from Valencia, Spain. One of my biggest challenges this year is keeping up this blog. Taking it on the road is making it a bit more difficult, but there is lots to see and even more to share! Taking long walks each day gives me the chance to explore. Of course the path meanders in and out of interesting stores, but do not despair! The price of the euro is enough to deter me from splurging. Careful consideration and lots of thinking keep me away from buying, buying, buying! Europe is certainly a consumerist’s paradise! Even I felt a bit overwhelmed with the variety! The rose below is one of many in a rose garden that is part of the Science park.



I have been snapping lots of pictures… experimenting with the camera and at this point it is still point and shoot (mik and druk) pictures. Taking pictures is lots of fun, but I only take the camera on every second outing in order just to see and appreciate my surroundings.

Growing up we learnt about this place because of the Valencia oranges. It is indeed a city of orange trees! I have also spotted an number of fig trees and today I saw a big one laden with fruit. In the middle of the city (almost I think!) there is a small park with three huge rubber trees (at least that is what we called it where I come from). Already I’m wishing for a wide angle lens. How can one describe this city?

I have not been to the beach yet, but you can feel that it is close by since the day-time temperature is 27 degrees Celcius but there is this lovely cool breeze blowing. A kind of café society is what I see. The city centre is busy, but it is filled more with people who are running errands in-between working hours or walking between office and appointments outside. The streets are filled with a mixture of tourists and retired people.
It is a city that mixes the old with the new. I became fascinated with the towers and the ornate plaster work. Balconies are festooned with the most interesting iron railings. I counted three churches in a 3km radius --- a triangle with the Cathedral at the Apex and two parish churches at the base. This of course is from my small angle. There is more to explore! Each traffic circle has some kind of sculpture or garden on it. This is one angle of this one.


I turned away from a guided tour in the Cathedral and instead I found the door open to the Parroquia de Santo Tomás Apóstol y San Felipe Neri in the Plaza de St Vicente Ferrer. The short time there rendered these pieces.

Confused
I float here and there
No sense of grace
Deeply embedded care
Hope mingled with moments scared
All the time
Chasing away
Feelings of despair
Murmurs in my soul
Constant prayer

Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, May 16, 2011.

Far off outside
A city moves
Basking in the midday sun
Purpose
Mingled with fun
Familiarity
Briefly
Disrupted
With fascination captured

The church florist
Brings the altar to life
Bathed in white
Sheer visual delight
The silence holds a reverence
Briefly
Treasured might
Godly grace
Never contrite

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, May 16, 2011.

Feint the lingering smell of incense
Sunday high mass
Left no traces
Quiet
The calling voices
All seeking
Godly loveliness
Innocence
Ubiquitously
In our minds
A permanent home
Reserved for
Holy places

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, May 16, 2011

The house of the Lord is alive
Pulsating under the mason’s hammer
Accompanied by an irritated cough
A guardian – patron
This lone visitor
Captured
Calmness
Gradually ascended
The bang of the church door symbolic
Those entering and leaving our lives
Remain systolic
Every soul connected
Ideas iconic

Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, May 16, 2011

Collecting Thoughts

Spring is in the air and I’m drawn to the garden like a bee to nectar whilst at the same time struggling to find the inner strength to connect the lines... words stuck inside… the inspiration is there but the souls’ cooperation is missing.
Writing for a living… waiting to earn a living… earning a living? What is the meaning of that? For some the answer is working hard and getting a well-deserved pay day. Others it is playing hard and getting a ridiculously high reward. The millions of job seekers wait and try and try again… our job is to ward of the threatening despair. The luxury of sleeping late, reading all the books you like, pottering around the garden, sweeping (if you like that kind of thing!). On another level there are crafts and cooking alternating with intent television sessions with the hope of gleaning valuable life-enhancing lessons.
All along there is the nagging reality… a blog in which to capture everyday life issues… In an attempt to catch up I post these pieces… Comments still welcome!

Love and Peace!

From spot on the couch

Washing in the shade
Shaking in the breeze
Free from the recent winter freeze
Framed by the incredible spring greens
The silky spider web
Blinking in the distance
Swinging in the wind
Offering no resistance

Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 11 May 2011

Melancholy

Fig jam and bread washed away with black coffee
A traditional breakfast
One little bit of a luxury treat
At home
Suffering
A kind of homesickness
That has nothing to do with place
Maybe more about
A yearning for the years lived
Sometimes
Bickering
Laughing
At the springtime breakfast table
Swinging
Defiant bare feet cold
Summer shorts
Flapping
In the stiff breeze
Willing
The heat of the summer sun
Strapless tops under warm fleece
Expectant
Radiance on naked skin
Familiar tastes and smells
Gradually
Nostalgias quelled

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, May 11, 2011

Tribute to soul mates

We don’t talk every day
Often I realise
Our prayers
Intermingle
Seldom focused
On our needs single
The life of my soul sisters
Mine
Existence giving

We don’t walk together every day
It has been a while
Since our last
Mountain journey in the rain
Rather
Caught in a song
Our connections
Strong
In my world you firmly belong

We don’t eat together everyday
All our special flavours’
Nurtured
Soul sisters
In smiles, sensations
Savoured
Red wine deep
Chocolate ice cream(y) sweet
Our bonds over time firmly kept

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, May 11, 2011

Blossoms in the heat

Confetti
Like I used to pick
From the barrel on the stoep
Nestled against the hot house
Fragrant on the kitchen table
Spring is here!
Nurturing
Sweet memories
Dear

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 11 May 2011

Last Saturday we attended a choir concert in the Uppsala University Aula (like a great hall only this one looks more like a cathedral (!) Since I struggle to keep still at the best of times I took some post-it note paper and a pencil… this is what I captured….

Moved

Voices dynamic
Ecclesiastical
Rhythm in my soul
Harmony magical
Only the polished gem revealed
Mined deep within
Transporting me
To the treasures
Of previous centuries

Deep and Light

Tears
Hide behind
Open eyes
Each songstress a diva
Every base and anchor
My voice
Quiet
Stable
The rhythm of my soul
Instilled
Enabled
An identity un-wavered
Sadness embraced
Happiness rejoiced

Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 6 May 2011

A Sombre Mood

When two elephants fight, it is the grass that gets trampled. - Swahili Saying

Last week I posted a mixture of what was buzzing in my mind and environment. Today’s contribution is an attempt to catch up on five’ day’s writing. Trying to make sense of the events of the past few days and at the same time we cannot stop what we do… the piece at the end is an update on the garden… or maybe it is better to say lack of action in the garden. The blues is playing and I cannot shake the sombre mood that the images of war brings upon me... Tell me what you see?

Shaken Up

Shaken up
We go to war
Everywhere
On the big screen
Paid-for-view TV
Victory
In the face of economic disparity
Peace
No easy feat
Control
Never
At the end of the line

Shaken up
West versus East
Bible over Koran
Priest versus Imam
Millions lost
All in the same systems bound
In war
The only place of equality
Below ground
Buried at sea
More than six feet deep

Shaken up
Wondering… searching
No universal ideal belief
Pacifists don’t wage war
Peace by proxy celebrated
Inner conflict a luxury elevated to unbridled heights
Karma
No light release
The middle way
Keeping millions from bondage
Toiling in relative
Serenity

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, May 2, 2011

Namaste

Namaste
I bow to you
No indication of subjugation
Merely
An open admission
Respect
Humbled
Equal
I am only me
Through you
Our souls connect
True

I bow to you
Namaste
Touching
Right hand to left
Close to my chest
Our connections
In time and space
Elected
The middle way
Easier not to stray
Spiritually
Light
Effortless praying

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, May 2, 2011

As-salaamu 'Alaykum

As-salaamu 'Alaykum
Peace unto you
Death
Celebrated
Avenged
An eye for an eye
No turning the other cheek
War
No place for the mild and weak
Collateral damage
Even the innocent
Sadly
Implicated

And upon you be peace
Wa alaikum assalaam
Life
Consecrated
Liberated
The blameless vindicated
In war mongering
We are all implicated
Global systems
Rooted
Complicated
Another Workers Day dripping in blood
All hands contaminated

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, May 2, 2011

One Weekend

On Friday
We sonorously congregate
Celebrating
A royal Union
Well planned
Millions
Glued to the little screen
A fairytale spectacle
Complete with fancy hats
Charities winning
Another wedding
Expected to be a lifetime’s innings

On Sunday
We spontaneously assemble
Celebrating
A battle victory
Well planned
Millions
Glued to the big screen
A dark tale spectacle
Complete with victory banners
Many white house’s winning
I cannot shake this feeling
Expected the start of many more battles beginning

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, May 2, 2011

Simple Times No More

We no longer
Live in simple times
Our universe
Complicated
In war and peace
We are all implicated
A plain existence
Perhaps
Only in the lives of ‘cut off’ villagers
Less intricate

We have never
In simple times lived
Even the lives of those
Without twitter and face-book affected
Fewer and fewer
Untouched
Their battles for life
Just as fierce
All our lives
By faraway encounters pierced
Salt and rice
Negatively effected
In war and peace
All humanity related

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, May 2, 2011

Delayed Reactions

In expectation
I wait
To plant the garden
One growing season in the north
Yet, experience tells me to delay
In all eagerness I hesitate
The bite of the last spring frost
Sensitive seeds
Will not take

In anticipation
I watch
Snow from the north
Falling slowly
Two seasons of winter in the north
Tells me
Its effects will not remain
Spring we venerate
Budding trees gives me
A visual break

In anticipation
I wish
No layers of snow will be staying
Like at the beginning of winter
Happiness pervades
I played it safe
Not planting last week
Was a good choice
Direct sowing
Might just give me a crop
Herbs and vegetables
Soon growing

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, May 2, 2011

Freedom Day Freedoms

Never the same day

April 27th
Freedom Day
One collective
Celebration
Amongst many
Life
Not
Comparable to any
Other
Father
Daughter
Son
Mother
Living
Requires
No comprehensive
Cover

April 27th
A commemoration
Many peoples
One nation
Each in life
A unique station
Democracy
Assumed for all
A state of elation
Inequality
Still
Part of the equation
Breathing freely
The recommendation
Survivalists
For another year
Patient

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 27 April 1994 we went to the polls and abolished Apartheid forever from the statutes, but the separateness still lives in hearts and minds.


Today the beech outside my window
Is in full bloom
Like the few surviving daffodils
I’m reminded
Spring is here
It is needed in my step
To lighten up
My soul
Beckoning me outside
A voice calm and collected
Its vibrancy
Cannot leave me
Unaffected

Today the sun in my window
Is warm and bright
It offers the promise
Of instant delight
Come outside
Please
Bring your kite
The breeze my company
Utter delight
It will still be many hours
Before we
Again
Have the darkness of night

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, April 27, 2011

Chicken curry and lamb stew

Chicken curry
Lamb stew
Comfort food
Just the tiniest scraps of meat
Sugar beans in the mix
Humble dishes
A gastronomical feast

Lamb stew
Chicken curry
Served for one or many
Best taken sitting down
Instant taste sensations
Stimulating
Positive moods
A buzz and vibe
Difficult to describe

Chick curry
Lamb stew
Pressure cooked prestige
Sizzling black pot campfire flamed
Every nation offers its edition
To the vegetarians aversion
Rice or roti
Krummel pap in tow
Knife, fork and spoon
No distraction
Salivating… mmmmm finger licking good

The lamb is softening in the pressure cooker and the house is fragrant with its promised flavor. By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, April 27, 2011.

Soul Sewing

Bright
Yellow
Green
I could not resist
Two pieces of cloth
Transform to a skirt
Imagined
A great grandmother’s gift
Skills honed
Trapped in memory
A mother’s guidance
Swift

Red
White and blue tied dyed
Treasures shared over oceans
Mixing
Lucky finds
Riches in the ‘fill a bag bin’
Sewing my salvation
Working stresses from within
Creations over the years
Stayed the tears
Waylaid the fears
Shielded from the spears
Sewing the gift
A silent cure

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, April 27, 2011

Easter Not Passed Over

Writing a daily blog was what I set out to do. Now I have not written for one week. Sorry… time and deadlines caught up with me! We have longer days in Skuttunge now and suddenly life is filled with many activities. Slowly the garden is getting ready for the big planting and creative ideas abuzz with a new craze for skirt making. It is once again fun to bring together the pieces of cloth. Nothing fancy so don’t send in the orders yet! The last time I posted was April 15th so I will try and find 7 pieces to keep in balance with the universe!

Another Passover

Another Passover
Almost gone
The end
Another Lenten journey
Where we win and lose
Learning
Just a little bit more
Gradually
Peeling away
What living
Holds for us in-store

Another Passover
With old traditions
Every dream
Holding new visions
Each year
A different prism
Gradually
Less and less division
Belief
Sometime
A virtual prison
Ascension
The promised salvation

By SBNN, April 23, 2011


Spring Flowers

I try
To capture
Your essence
Little flower blue
Rising tower purple
Cascading tree yellow
Rising tulip red
Your fragrance
Keeps my senses
Well fed

I try
To collect
Your nectar honey sweet
Like the birds
Flitting about
Sweet buds
Dinner delicacies
Insects’ intimacies
At dusk
They hover above your sensitive cusp
Every spring
A feast on offer
Mixing
Innocence and lust

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, taking pictures of Spring flowers in Sweden, A lazy Easter Saturday, April 23, 2011.


Patches

A riot of colours
Stir my senses
Bright greens
Yellows pale
What is the best cloth
On sale
An amateur designer
Never fails
Her own creations
House dresses
Well worn
Never
For Sale

A riot of pieces
Neatly
Stuffed in bags
A treasure trove
Worth much more
Than the rags we used
To clean the black stoves of old
Every stitch
A lifeline to my soul
Each patch
Mending
Broken bones
Life’s pains
Stories untold

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, the sewing machine is a gift that keeps on giving. Creating even just a bag to keep the bread warm is such a pleasure! April 23, 2011.

Pickled fish and hot cross buns

I dig deep inside
Finding the flavour and the taste
Pickled fish and hot cross buns
Cooked and baked
Golden brown
Sticky
Sweet and sour
Tangy
Deep in my bones
Every year
Flavours gradually entrenched
Stored in the tips of my fingers
Lingering in the lining of my nose
Salivating in the roof of my mouth
A shared perception
More than memories
Our collective celebration

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, Good Friday Feasts… Pickled fish and Hot cross buns, April 23, 2011.

Cooks’ Garden Companions

Rhubarb and Mint
Shares the spoils of early spring
The cool garden corner companions
Survivors shaking off
Winter’s cold ravages
One sour
The other sweet
Both offering
Quick relief
To many
Pestering human maladies

Rhubarb and mint
Leaves big and dainty
Culinary gifts
Perennial
Less than saintly
Mint well known
Rhubarb’s reputation
Much more quaintly
Cooks all round
Find hidden treasures
In generous portions
Well measured

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, April 23, 2011.


Depth and Meaning

Depth and meaning
I seek through writing
Hidden emotions
Somehow
Grazing the surface
Transforming
Something light
Instantly deep
Not necessarily the intention
Keeping it bright
Suddenly
Writing bittersweet
Chasing authenticity
An author’s quest
True to the self
Or else suffer
Mediocrity at best

Depth and meaning
We skim through
Revealing
Diminutive sightings new
Secrets
Well nurtured
Shame and pain
Our soul’s burden
Love and laughter
Life’s safety net
Existing
A fine balance
The search for self
A constant journey
True

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, April 23, 2011.

My daily prayers

I whisper a little prayer
Silently
Wishing to protect my soul
Seeking balance in my life
Making me whole

I whisper a little prayer
Loudly
Wishing for the safety of your life
That you will find happiness
Peace from strife

I whisper a little prayer
Subconsciously
Connecting us in our dreams
Banishing dark feelings blue
Finding blessings new

I whisper a little prayer
Wordlessly
Chanting a mantra seeking absolution
Exiling every sin
Discovering forgiveness within

I whisper a little prayer
Noiselessly
Spreading goodwill with every hymn I sing
Blessings to our souls
Each hour of meditation hope brings

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, April 23, 2011.

Paying Peace Forward

This idea…
Pay peace forward
Finding
Time and space
Perfect
Mind of place
Beyond
An abstract gap
Tranquility
More than
A state without war

This concept…
Pay peace forward
Following
Simple wishes
Wiping away
Regrets’ tears
Life’s light gradually banishing
Boogiemen fears
Chasing demons
With magic spears
Calmness
Ripping away years

This understanding…
Pay peace forward
In my realm
No longer stuck
Seeking freedoms’ alms
Open hands
Banished
Violence in my palms
A voice suddenly balm
Love’s affirmation
Stripped its’ terror wrath
External peace
Fertile soil
Calamity
Steadily foiled

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, April 15, 2011

April Muse

I try to think about all the ideas I wanted to write about today. Where did the week go? At the end of Monday I had a lot to say about livelihoods or rather the difficulties of having sustained options in life. The rest of the week has slowly become a battle in terms of me securing my own sense of ‘livelihood’. I’m already back from one of those activities that is good for you and you go in anticipation of the pain and sure! It is more intense than you remember from the last time. No, it’s not childbirth! No! I did not go to the dentist (that is next month!!!) Yes! It was a mammogram! What a pain! During the five minutes of me, half naked in the room with two very well trained and kind nurses who only spoke in rapid Swedish whilst directing me! Now a few hours later I have almost forgotten the pain and I am happy that we have technology that can give us an early warning if there should be anything wrong. On a much lighter note! The sun is out and the first spring flowers are now flushing the road verges yellow and the birds are out and happy.

The air is alive
It shimmers
Like a slow flowing river
Bright
Reflections
In the clouds
Moving about
In the ever so slight breeze
Happy days
Spared
Until next year’s freeze



These are the first flowers in our garden. Improving my photography skills is the next challenge for the year.

Ten Words Looping in my Head
Too many people
With greedy eyes
Empty pockets
Vacant minds

Too many people
With empty eyes
Greedy pockets
Occupied minds

Too many people
With blocked eyes
Broken pockets
Greedy minds

Too many people
With broken eyes
Vacant pockets
Blocked minds

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, April , 2011

Freedom’s Rambles
It has been 20 years
Since
Our Freedom Movements were unbanned
Maybe in my mind
It was an idealist’s Peace Movement
Generations
Chased
Battled
Expected
Instant
Inner -- Outer
Peace
Dreams of normality
Idealistically
Almost instantly banished
Inequality
Rooted in historical adversity
When all the while
Serenity is buried
Deep inside
Conflict flying about
Wild

It has been 20 years
Since we started building
A process of freedom
I’m still captured
In my mind
Like the woman on the morning radio
Who talks about it
Conjuring the vision for me
The maid and her life… depicted in her art
She is breaking out
But I feel
Her need to tell
Even from far away
I reconnect with this need
Listening
Waiting
Urging
To splinter away
Cracking the surface
Bold
Before I’m too old

It has been 20 years
Suddenly
We have new stories
The horrors of choice
The flagrant wonton greed of peace
A new kind of disrespect
Solidarity
A word of regret
Freedom Movements
New
Protest Movements
We are being robbed
Idealistic
Silent
My dreams
Inner Peace
Outer liberation
Misplaced

It has been 20 years
Inner peace
Growing through the cracks in the concrete road
Always this nagging question
Begging an answer
What could I have been?
If my ancestors were not enslaved
What can I become?
When I defy this inner oppression
What for me
The lessons after all this time
Why are we still a nation
Drawing a spear
Instead of a pen
Instinctively
Hiding in the safety of the fire circle
Failing to act
Banishing
Enemies
Soul thieves
Our road to Damascus
Crisscrossed by a world
That looked just like ours
Collective inequality
Everywhere
Deep inside
Idealistically
We call the monster by its name
But in doing so
He becomes our captor
We become the aggressors
A new kind of separateness
For which there is no
Freedom Movement
Only
Paying peace forward

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, Radio P1, Sverige had a short piece on a travelling exhibit and the artist talked about a maid that was depicted as too dressed up to work and I heard the voice and called out South Africa before she identified her work as South African. April 14, 2011.

How can we forget?

I had this bright idea to write about the importance of not forgetting -- picking up from last week's last lines... What should I have remembered? A very busy weekend kept me away from the computer. My recurring bouts of low writing confidence saw me sitting up at the graveyard hour in an attempt to complete a now overdue report! Today I participated in a forum (voluntarily) fueled by an interest in livelihoods (sustainable?). Another lecture room with interesting dissertations and big complex academic concepts. Keeping track of the issues. The sad part is that I had to listen to tales of poverty and hardship and the proffered solutions left some even worse off. The research offers insights into very complex issues. Snap shots into peoples lives that will become the marker in the life of the student. What has this got to do with my title?

I'm thinking

In my mind
Poverty
Will always be etched
Its memories haunt me
Never to forget
Even if to my elders
It was probably never considered
Totally hopeless
Others considered
Worse off
We from its destructive ravages
Spared

In my mind
Permanently marked
Economic liberation
A fine health's salvation
A growing mind
Defined
Not by social borders confined
My wants and needs
No longer dreams maligned
I have to remember
Safety nets can always unravel
My comfort zones
Can at the next turn
Rapidly decline

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, April 11, 2011

From the days' activities I add this one:

The poor reacts
Shifting livelihood choices
Human action responses
Mother earth
Not a passive correspondent
Shifting sands
Crowded lands
Many abandoned plans

The rich reacts
Rapidly grabbing voices
Human instincts resplendent
Mother earth
A violent defender
Crying voices
Institutionally upended
Poor choices
Badly defended

The society reacts
A silent profusion
Human driven confusion
Mother earth
Malnourished bloated
The vulnerable easily goaded
Equality
Sadly too lightly floated

By Simone Beatrice Naik NOemdoe, April 11, 2011.

We have to remember

Over the last two days I had two conversations that made me laugh with joy and in both exchanges we shared some serious ideas. Our heritage.... these are my thoughts.

What is our heritage? This is such a common question. Everyone a sociologist, anthropologist, philosopher… asking.. exploring… looking. Family history, conditioning… space and time – that point in your life when the choices were made. For you, by you, in you, through you… all these things shape us. Making us who we are. Strong and weak at the same time. Teaching initiative. How to ask. When to ask. Seeking out the right knee at which to sit to find that critical voice, that encouraging pat on the back… those harsh words to wake us up!

All these voices over time – I have this picture of my aunt talking to me on my 21st birthday. My only picture of her and she encouraged me to live and be the best I can be! The picture is somewhat posed, but the words were not. Rituals like this we have to cherish. “Take care of yourself. Watch out whom you choose to be in your life. Try and be friends with people who are better than you”. Within that, we were called to make a judgment call. Decide who you want to be and go for it!

Soul Shaping
Today
I want to celebrate
With pride
My heritage
Poor
Suffering
Transcended
Every problem
By a quiet, screaming
Small victory
Upended

Today
I want to celebrate
With love
My family
Rich
Victorious
Uplifted
Our bootstraps
Stretched to the edge
Away from despair
We have not
Too badly fared

Today
I want to be reminded
With love
Of our individual
Collective drive
Bickering in-between
We smoothed the rough edges
Breaking free
No system could
Our souls diminish
We can only grow
Continuously
Flourish

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, April 8, 2011. For Bakkies! Thank you for all your love and encouragement.

Wind in my writing tales

There is an in-between season wind blowing outside. The kind I got used to as a child. In the Western Cape it is called the Augustus winde. In school we had to learn poems about die “Augustus Winde”. Now it feels like so long ago! The wind will come moving over the mountains with billowing white clouds against a bright blue sky. Those clouds which made me feel small, as if they can come and envelope me to be dropped in another valley. I tried to hide under the blankets with thick borrowed books and drink lots of coffee finishing all the sugar!

They never came to collect me for a journey to the next valley and it's April in another part of the world. The wind from winter to spring with the promise of summer. Instead of looking at clouds coming over the mountains I study their patterns over the tops of swinging trees. I’m kept alert by the wind chimes outside. I have long ago learnt that no matter how hard they try the clouds can never sweep me away!

Swayed

Swinging with the wind
Firmly rooted
Why
Do I envy you
Big and small tree
Why
Do I feel
Less rooted
Moving about
Free

Solid on the earth
Firmly anchored
Why
Do I envy you
Creaking house
Why
Do I feel
More trapped
Moving about
Free

Stuck in my head
Firmly trapped
Why
Don't I dare you
Words in my mind
Why
Do I fail
To bring you out
Will a walk in the strong breeze
Flush you
About

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 7 April 2011.

Blustering about

Kling klang kling
Wind chimes distracts me
Klang Kling klang
Ceramic dolphins
Swinging free
A fun off-key tune you sing
What pleasure
To my soul
Your kling klang tunes bring

Doom doom doom
The wind in the forest bloom
Hiss hiss hiss
Through the naked trees
Swing swing swing
More stable
Than a puppet
On a string

Creak creak creak
From north to east
The sky bleak
Sunshine today
A shy friend to wind
Movement dynamic
No space in time
For the frantic
My love with this wind
May just be
A little too pedantic

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, April 7, 2011. (Very distracted from commissioned writing!)

Chase it away

Banish
All feelings blue
Embrace
Life’s hassles true
Time to grow
Find a new way through

Banish
All images blue
Hug in close
Inkling ideas new
Birds whisper
Even in winter too
Summer soon here
Bright and new

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe April 7, 2011.

Optimist - Pessimist

Crafting with words is what I do for a living. Writing this blog is supposed to grow what I do for a living and a way to connect with the world. Yet, writing it is a bit like the fly trapped between the curtain and the window. You cannot see it, but the buzzing is just irritating enough to push you to do something! Anything!

And so, in talking about writing, I reflect on this obsession that we as South African’s have with our language heritage. It is not nearly as many languages as in India or as complicated as the dialects in China, but on top of the different languages we have also mastered the art of speaking in euphemisms. When we have a problem (difficulty, trouble, crisis, predicament, quandary, setback, hitch) we call it a challenge (comfort, brave, defy, face up to, dare, test, dispute). The more I think about it, I begin to see why we can fall for this. It is maybe this shift from being a pessimist to being an optimist – for all, the growing necessity to get out of bed in the morning and move life forward. I offer four very different pieces (Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday) to maybe contemplate our swinging between our problems and challenges!

Don’t Judge
Don’t judge
You always urge
How to do this
When it is so inherently
Human nature
To analyse and contemplate
Issues of family
From opposite ends
Very difficult
Hastily uttered comments
Openly made
Considered
Hurtful and unkind

Don’t judge
Your general sentiment
How do you then
Some actions
Reactions
Comprehend
Selfish visions entrenched
Challenge
Not the same
As the no-judging regiment
For in the end
Judgement
Is all we sometimes
Comprehend
Pessimist
See the world unkind
Optimists
Accused
Looking at the realities blind
Judgement
Perhaps
The only way to
Sanity find

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, started sometime in 2007 and completed on April 5, 2011.

Happiness
Happiness
We with others
Seek
When it is
The happiness lacking within
That makes us
Weak
In this search
We should remember
That no one
But ourselves
Can us
Unhappy render

Happiness
Not sold
In a shop window
Or dished out
At the charity table
It is only
When we
Internal harmony find
That happiness
Will follow blind

Happiness
In continuity elusive
Not a constant state
Conclusive
But happy seconds
By the millions
Leaves us
Overjoyed
It possesses the power
To unhappy moments
Destroy

By Simone, 07/09/10

Much of the Sameness
Much of the sameness
We wait for and actively seek
Is that the best way forward
When we life partners
Want to meet

Adaptor or innovator
You might be
Seeking much of the sameness
Or someone who will
Complement and grow thee

Much of the sameness
Kept together by
Social, emotional acceptability
Adaptive or innovative
You might be
What the give and take would be

Adaptors to innovators gravitate
Friends will be sought
Who are alike
That is when we start
Social discord and a fight

Much of the sameness
We in society will seek
The best way forward
It will for most be
At least if only
To keep the peace

By Simone Noemdoe, 12 October 2006 at during an “Innovative Leaders, Excellence in Performance” workshop presentation on adaptors and innovators

Rules of Engagement
Rules of engagement
Concepts used in war
Why not
In any other life battle

Would it not offer
Some mechanism
For all… in everyday life
Instead of just following
Instincts blindly

Rules of engagement
Expected to be fair
Very difficult to ignore
The results of transgression
Will be disastrous

Rules of engagement
In all contexts do exist
Mostly unwritten, unspoken
Life lessons always growing

By Simone Noemdoe, 17 August 06

Fickle Fridays

When the world says, "Give up,"
Hope whispers, "Try it one more time."
~Author Unknown

All I can wish is that you enjoy a great weekend. Some pieces from the archives. Comments welcome!

BRIDGERS

Do you have?
A bridger
In your life
Someone
Observing
Interacting
Not their own interest
Seeking

We all have bridgers
In our lives need
A special person
It often does not have to be
Someone
Who can
Mediate
Language and social barriers break

We all bridgers
In our lifetime become
Between
Colleagues
Family and friends
Connecting
In space and time
Otherwise
We can never
Each other find

Bridgers
Learn to use
Common language
Conflicting parties
Casually connect
A way forward
From deletion
Distortion and generalisation move
The world for all
A better place to be

By Simone Noemdoe, 12 October 2006 at during an “Innovative Leaders, Excellence in Performance” workshop.

Comfort and Refuge

Comfort and refuge
Is what I seek
Protection for my soul
Emotionally weak
Not covered by insurance
Emotional capital
Quite unique

Encouraged to purge
How you feel emotionally
Deal with the challenges
Somewhat
Superficially
The prevailing supportive speak

Comfort and refuge
Pursued at all cost
Its attainability
A dream
Or should the desire
For protection be forgotten
Suppressed
Blameless
Without regrets

So, insurance for emotional comfort and protection
Does not exist
I’m cheated
Emotional premiums made
Withdrawals of comfort and refuge enjoyed
My heart and soul
Suffered
A blatant emotional raid

Comfort and refuge
I continue to seek
Is it a true reflection
Me
Feeling mild and meek?

Somehow, I come to the conclusion
That in future
I'll cease to seek
Comfort and refuge
Instead it will be a just reward
To harden my soul
To fight the urge to be weak
Move on, hide the urge to
Consciously seek comfort and refuge

Quietly I'll regret
The uninsured situation at best
I still feel though that I am still ready
To pay out against
The emotional policy drawn
An investment of time
Where comfort and refuge
Is first in line

By Simone Noemdoe, 3 March 06

Leadership

I expect to pass through this world but once; any good thing therefore that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now; let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again. (Ettiene De Grellet)

Is this perhaps what defines the leadership qualities in each one of us? The last time I looked at this quote was in the memory of my Late Great Aunt Sadie Blankenberg (Nee Williams, nee Naik). She did not have much learning from books, but in my mind she had inherent strength to lead from the bottom up. She could follow through and deliver, giving selflessly – in the family and in the community. It is in this context that I connect with the understanding that my hiatus from the formal structure of the world of work does not really call upon me to take leadership in the grand scheme of things. Maybe one of the things that can explain why I am ‘commanding’ rather than caring or shouting rather than sharing... Sorry.

One topic I have not thought much about in a while is LEADERSHIP. An issue generally close to my heart and often I am faced with the ideas on whom or what constitutes a good leader or leadership. What made me think about it? Another story about the conflict between personal ambition or even insecurity and the ability to grow other people frizzling out to something that is often described as ‘they had a personality clash’ or ‘women just simply cannot get along in the work place’. Yet, it should be about leadership and in the process of taking leadership creating an enabling space for the development and growth of those with talent, potential and passion. Even though I am not in a full-time workplace I can still come to grips with petty insecurities and show leadership practice in being kind, compassionate, supportive and care. (This one from the archives just after I first started writing again.)

Women’s Leadership… Why?
When do we first meet women’s leadership?
Is it when we are born?
Our human being
A choice by a woman to bear us

Is it a real choice or an accident of circumstance?
Many would argue
That choice to be a luxury
Others would say
It is a curse!

In the face of poverty,
AIDS and oppression
You name it!

We first meet women’s leadership
Of the greatest kind
When we watch our mothers and grandmothers raise families
Often the first
Lately the second and third generation

Standing strong
Coping with life’s harshness
Working hard, earning too little
Fighting relentlessly, sometimes indulging too much
Being proud, not willing to ask for help
Having dignity,
Fighting them, but still protecting male mediocrity
Standing tall, falling down, but often
Dying too early

Yet, that is not how we look at women’s leadership

We look for it
Up the corporate ladder
Where many women become men
To survive in a man’s world

Up the public sector ladder
On the Political Party agenda
In the Parliamentary echelons

Up the Institutional ladder
Of the World Bank
The international NGO (Non-Governmental Organization)

Up the academic ladder
Of the University Senates, Research Committees
For academic recognition

In the prayer rooms
Of the Mosque, church, temple and the Synagogue

On the battlefield
Amongst the Generals

Not on the ground being raped
Not at home, protecting it from the bulldozers
Not by the river, looking for the water
Not in the forest, carrying the firewood
Not in the fields, tending the crops
Not in kitchen, cooking to feed the nations
Not in the schools, teaching the next generations

That is where we are!
Give us a decent wage
Give us a fair chance
Create an enabling environment

Break the barriers
Of negative cultures
Inhibiting our growth

Topple the ivory towers
Keeping us in chains

Break the glass ceilings
Keeping us in

Let us take the tools
To control our own lives
The voices, the money, the spaces

Most importantly
Respect us!
Being women, showing courage and leadership
Give us the recognition and the just rewards!

Written by Simone Noemdoe, Monday 1 August 2005

Senses

Every year I have this recurring love affair with the change of season. As a child it used to spell disaster. Allergies, endless trips to the doctor, bundled up in shoes and coats and always having to take the worst home cures! Cod liver oil, Scotch Emulsion (No it really never tasted better even after taking an orange wedge!!) cooking oil and condensed milk, all kinds of indigenous herbs brewed to their strongest levels! Don't forget the jars and jars of dark molasses!

Now, I don't care... I love the trees, collect the fallen leaves, celebrate the flowers! Pick up green leaves and press them in books. When they have the hope to survive I pick some wild flowers... This is the equivalent to the Cape Fynbos Erica (heath) found in the Stockholm Archipelago


Seasoned Sensations
Can you
Smell it
The sweetest tastes
Of spring
Winters’ damp
Once again
Moved away
Summer
Reluctantly
Is on its way
To come and play

Can you
Taste it
Summer’s heat sensations
Spicy
Sticky
Sweet
Romping bare feet
Shade
More than a
Welcome treat

Can you
Catch it
Every season’s promise
Stripped
Bright
Honest
Despite our memories
Every year induces
A novice
Older
Wiser
Nothing but a
Promise

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, March 30, 2011.

Stability

Thank you for the very encouraging messages on yesterday's post. Stability is maybe why I want to share one of my random pictures today. Part of the process of moving forward with each day and its new tasks and constant challenges. It is connected to my fascination with trees. They are rooted and yet, most of the time flexible enough to sway with the strongest wind, a stable home for birds and other wildlife, and wise enough to have all kinds of protective measures against predators. I love looking at them and I wonder what kind of stories they could tell, if they had the power of speech. Maybe the question is rather... when will I learn to understand their language?

Now I live in a nation that grows millions of trees. This time of the year the forester and gardener is taking the opportunity to get ready for spring. The hum of a chainsaw is a familiar sound competing with the birds for our sensory attention. Suddenly I catch myself taking pictures of freshly cut tree stumps. It sometimes feels like I’m standing next to a culled elephant. Wisps of wet sawdust clinging to my shoes, like droplets of blood. These colossal stumps are often more than 50 years or even older and suddenly its eco-system services will seize to be. Maybe in a place where people stay in one place for more than one or even ten generations one will see new trees nurtured, maturing and more and more planted…



My romance with trees
It was
A fig tree
I first learnt to climb
To the top
Rewarded
A view of the neighbourhood
The sweetest freshest fruit
Disappearing underfoot
The value of a tree
Something good

It was
On a small platform
In an oak tree
Where I got transported
To mystery coves and lovers’ nests
Climbing up
Was the real test
My fear of heights
With a little bit of reading solitude
Blessed

It was
Under the giant leaves
Of the tree fern
We walked for long hours
At a snail’s pace
The future had only
A happy face
The innocence of our youth
Made hiking in the forest
A perfect place

It is
The living oaks
I count every time
Their telltale signs
Amongst the birch and pines
Easy to find
A childhood romance with acorn husks
Transformed to wedding rings
An island in a trunk ocean
Surviving in a lingonberry patch
Our fascination
Making it a perfect match

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, March 29, 2011