Ice Paradise

Thousands of lights
Blink at me
Created in the cold
Darkness their friend
Winter
Suddenly
Light and bold

Thousands of smiles
Thrown at me
Caught in the headlights
They are set free
Winter
Quickly
Flying by yours truly

Thousands of moments
Pass by me
Alive on the farmer’s field
Icicles
With cat’s eyes competing
Winter
Settled
Unforgiving

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-01-31.

Appearances

As the biggest fear sets in
The appearance of incompetence
The pain of want
Lives
Bottomless in the
Darkest corner of the soul
Hiding in the
Private recesses of the mind
Clogging arteries
Growing tumours
Seeking instant relief
From this affliction
A mere perception
Unkind

As the biggest resolve sets in
The appearance of hope
The pain of success
Dogged
Endless in the
Bright bells of laughter
Exposed
In the fields of expectation
Un-tempered
Invested
Seeking constant security
From this victory
A mere approval
Benevolent

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-01-30.

A Zero Sum

Our footprint
Never a zero sum
Scientifically
Calculated
Dinner table points
Pontificated
Nano issues
Elaborated
More and more known
Less and less
Educated

Our footprint
Seldom light
Socially
Evaluated
Seminar joints
Populated
Mass hysteria
Supplicated
More and more known
Less and less
Participated

Our footprint
Always firm
Sensibly
Obliterated
Round tabled
Sophisticated
Conscientiously
Communicated
More and more known
Les s and less
Antiquated

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-01-30.

Sunday Digests

The fire in my soul
Smoulders

The laughter in my life
Bubbles

The pain of betrayal
Dissipates

The victory of success
Celebrates

The joy of life
Gives

The secrets of self
Buried

The breath in the air
Free

The working mind
Growing

The will to live
Fluid

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-01-29.

Trading Time

The days’ light
Drags longer
Winter bird song
Whispers louder
Inner weakness
Seeks a partner

The season’s plight
Strains forward
Winter winds
Shout out
Inner Strength
Jollifications chasing

A lifetime’s delight
Hurried after
Winter dreams
Immersed
Open books
Unrehearsed

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-01-28.

Mantra

Hope
Settles
Insecurity

Wishes
Anchors
Dreams

Success
Drives
Prosperity

Despair
Motivates
Ingenuity

Love
Breeds
Confidence

Victories
Brings
Rewards

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-01-27

Potential

Grief
In passing
Unmeasured

Love
In endurance
Treasured

Freedom
In liberty
Gathered

Friendship
In loyalties
Collected

Passion
In love
Smothered

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-01-26.

Curriculum Vitae

Country of origin
South Africa

Place of birth
Wellington

Foundation tribe
Mixed -- East meets west, gathered in the South

Foundation of knowledge
Higher education, manager, writer, seasoned campaigner

Love of labour
Over twenty years, tried and tested, diversity along the way

Earning a living wage
Non-governmental, public sector, academic, very rewarding spiritual

Creativity centre stage
Needles at the core, imagination since early childhood measured

Familial space
Loyal mother, daughter, sibling, partner, in constant search of grace

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-01-25.

Creativity

Creativity
Tapped
New ideas
Captured
Making it over
Never
Part of the plan
Humility
Starting again
Part of the process

Creativity
Seized
Colour and texture
Explored
Something new
Nothing much to prove
Keeping busy
Less like scrooge
Pretty
All in blue

Creativity
Embedded
New concepts
To old skills tethered
Layers of learning
Always
Part of the journey
Product and project intertwined
Originality
More than a state of mind

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-01-24.

Self Portrait

Self portrait
Dark
Free in shorts
Barefoot
In the dust
Accidentally stung
Taking life
Serious
Loving fun
One day
In the ranks of the dearly departed
Found

Self portrait
Bright
Stripped
Reincarnated
Hiding
Accidentally discovered
Giving life
Meaning
Loving laughter
One day
In the ranks of the giving
Rebound

Self portrait
Subversive
Identity
Discursive
Accidently recovered
Going forth
Profounder
In the ranks of the living
Peace be with you
Eventually
Completely
With me

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-01-23.

Sunday Soul Rhythms

Blake
Comes alive
On Sunday night
Rhythms
Bouncing
Off the walls
Pulsating
Through the floors
Tones
Firm and strong
In-between
An original song

Blues
Come alive
On Sunday night
Melodies
Shaking
In my soul
Quiet voices
Patching holes
Hot Energy
Quarters the cold
Sunshine tones
This winter’s night
Beholden

Brothers
Come alive
On Sunday night
Pure dynamism
Sheer delight
Natural rhythms
Swinging about
Time and space
In this jazz-cave lost
Raw music love
Caught
On the spot

For Anders, Per and Tomas the trio, Fat Cotton
By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-01-22.

Is it possible?

Zero impact
Impossible
Capitalist spending
Like commercial vending machines
Embedded
A cola never far away
We are always
Willing to pay
Shopping
Entertainment
Occupying
More than
The usual
Saturday

Zero impact
Impossible
Cheese and bread
Hard-boiled egg
Staples
On any trek
Vegetarian delights
Meat lovers fight
We no longer
Lightly
On this earth tread
This understanding
Leaves me panicked
Filled with dread

Zero impact
Possible
Something to strive for
Several elements
We control
Summer’s bounty
Fuelled by labour
Winter’s too long to find a gardeners’ favour
Drought and floods
Certainly not best friends
Scavenging the markets
A common trend
All fuels
Seem to trigger war
Saying no
An element insecure
Blanket boycotts
Seldom
A strategy secure

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-01-22.

Winter in my soul

The trees are sprinkled with icing sugar
Rocks layered in vanilla frosting
Every wetland
Volunteered to be an ice rink
A new moon
Makes
Winter disappear
Every time
I blink

Roofs are sprinkled with fresh snow
The cold wind
Barely blows
Frozen soil
Cannot be toiled
Every breath
Blows clouds
The living
Need no shrouds

Brittle grass snaps like syrup candy
The sun pitches rays of lightning
Triggering minor avalanches
Every waking hour
Thumping
Dull and dour
Before long
The new moon promised
We will
Have more light
Expectant sympathy
Easing my soul’s
Plight

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-01-20.

Trying

I attempt to explore
An inner thought
In writing
Every day
Family secrets kept
Little duties like caring for the family pet
Washing the dishes
Before
Going to bed
Always
A call to dig deep inside
That unique
Fresh reality
Find

I make new wishes
In little prayers
Every day
A better job
Good weather
Improved health
Safe travels
Many more mercies
We all continuously seek
Always
Steadfast stay
Each new era
Means an old one
Passed again

I contemplate reality
In conversation
Every day
Corruption here
Empathy there
New conventions
Negotiated
A world
Maybe enhanced
Always
Room to be better prepared
Moving on
Leaves most
Battle scarred
All generations must feel
Living is impossibly
Hard

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-01-19.

Family History

I wish
My elders were better
At telling stories
Where did they come from
What did they call their mamma’s
Ideas shared
Passions
Earliest cares
Dreams and wishes
Love lost
Open kisses

I wish
We did not move around so much
And every home still had a treasure
Under the bed
On top of dusty cupboards
A stash of favourite family pictures
Windblown at the beach
Stiff upper lip at family weddings
Big feet accidentally snapped
An obscure cousin visiting
Some with no names and dates
Almost lost
Amongst the kitchen plates

I wish
I wish
I wish
Instead I chase the stories where they can be found
A cousin here
An uncle there
A father reluctantly gives me his share
Slowly it comes together bit by bit
At least for now
In my head
It will never be complete
In time with some responsibility
We might have it captured
Family tales of pain and laughter
More than nostalgia is what I’m after
Greater insights we might glean
If only the elders were more forthcoming
Than in my dreams

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-01-18

Identity

Identity
A number
In a national system
Woman
Height
Colour of my eyes
Nothing about
Who
I am
Inside
All of that
Supposed to be
Self-defined

Identity
Mother of a child
Child of a mother
Every day
One foot in front of the other
Surviving
Creating a living
Relying on others
Needs first
Quenching a thirst
Wrapped in my worth
In each breath
Victorious

Identity
Professional
Huddled in a corner
Knees tucked under
Lost in the dark
Trying to find the spark
A shining light
Wading through the fights
Screaming
I might
Suppress the terror
See the blunders
Misplace me
Never
Again

Identity....

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-01-17.

New Uses for Old Words

“Siren voices.” I learnt the concept today. Laid up with a bit of a cold and trying to find something interesting on TV. Curious about the expression I tried to learn more and it seems as if it is more a collective term in the new age of insecurity when we dig deep and try and find new words in an old language to describe situations, places or things that needs attention.

Alarmist
More like it
Fancy shouting
Could be the same
Nowadays we are trapped
In the realm of satellite TV
Social media platforms
Nearly free
Everyone else
Left aside
No news -- good news
Lives
In the moment
Choices driven by survival
Minor goals and victories
Met on arrival

Scared
More like it
Fears about the end of the world
One religion threatening another
Oppression lounging on many street corners
Democracy the hero to save the day
Men and women cannot come out and safely play
Bankers and corporate bosses always in the fray
The lines so blurred
We cannot navigate the way
Did they question life
Back in the day

Terrified
More like it
Laws and regulations to keep the playing fields the same
Manners and courtesies assemblage civilisation
Individual versus collective more common place
A threatened earth always complaining
Raised voices
Influences choices
Rarely
We willingly trade places
Intellectual
Bourgeois
Mere labels
Mass action in any direction
Leaves the most
Treading with trepidation

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-01-16.

Wondering...

Amity
Do you
Remember
The last date we connected
Sharing
Laughter
Little secrets
Insignificant regrets
Black coffee and bread
Friendships
Measured in more than hours in the same place
Our interactions
Survived
Bickering altercations
Forgiveness
Part of the game
Your name
Writes friendship in my life
Knowing you’re in this world
Leaves me
A happy woman

Solitary
The latest action heroes
On the big screen
Preoccupied
Devouring the latest book club read
The human connection
Something we all need
Never mind
The occasional search for a retreat
As we grow older
Life becomes more and more
Solitary

Compatibility
You have to
Move on
Your life
No longer exists
In the same way
Embrace
Time’s gift
Explore new ways
To make it fit

It is no longer
Your mission
Bringing some relief to the masses
Left to their own devices
Like those
Living in more developed places
Human misery
Still
A growing industry

It is no longer
Just a question
Of free choice
Labour markets shrinking
More languages
We have to speak
Never enough knowledge
Or the right skills set
Age and technology
Leaving some wanting
Are we inadvertently
Back to a life of modern
Hunting and gathering

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-01-15

Voices of Legends

The voice of a legend
Arrived in the mail
Someone less human
Will be hard to find
For him
Failure on the path to victory
Is part life’s game

The voice of another legend
Follows me
Someone less human
Will be hard to find
For him
Prayer life paves the way
Without his valuable lessons my many lives will be much less

The voices of many legends
Sing in my head
All in unison
Uniquely human
You connect me
Always
To life’s everyday realities
One or two caught in the limelight of the world
But your constants rays
Keep these feet
Earthbound
Seeking
Success in work and play

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-01-14

Dreams

A writer
My dream
To be
Touching lives
Setting wondering spirits free
Chasing old fears away
Maybe collecting
Victories along the way
A voice painting pain
Screaming
Essentially
Never part of the game

A traveller
My dream
To be
New places
Different people see
A life touched
Beyond feeling
Maybe collecting
Stories along the way
Loving laughter
Whispers
Fundamentally
Always part of the game

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-01-14

Another cold Friday

Like an ocean
The forest
Sing outside
Cold winds
Make many more
Than little birds
Hide
How long should we
Pause to see
Winter’s other side

Like the deep see
The colour of the sky
Grey like the middle of my head
Banishing the sun
Unimagined
Winter procrastinates
Summer
Why do you
Make us wait

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-01-13

Cyberspace Relations

I travel
Through the thoughts
Of others
The curser strolling up and down
Happiness
Frustrations
Victories
Simple wishes
Connecting
Family relations
Over continents
I keep in touch
In the moment
Not contributing much

I walk through snippets of their minds
Like getting an update on the weather in my birthplace
A favourite song
Birthdays celebrated
Realisations where you belong
Proud moments shared with the crowd
Some shouting loud
Others blending in quietly passing comments along
It leaves me feeling
In and out
Kinda’ like on the edge
Invited to jump in
Still hesitating
There is no reason why I’m waiting

I peep into the their windows
Waking up my own recollections
How we played at home
I changed your nappy when you were just a little person bold
Your humorous nature will never disappear
The words like graffiti on a public wall
Private, like a confessional stall
Freedom
In many ways expressed
One of the greatest pleasures
Social media -- like it or lump it…
A platform to interact

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-01-12,

It is not so minor

Minor
Aches and pains
Distracts me
Beautiful laughter
With my daughter
Delights me
Another day gone
Millions of ideas
Somewhere
Spawned
Alive
Dusk till Dawn

Minor
Worries
Distracts me
Enough milk in the house
A warm blanky for the couch
The backward belief of some
Robs
The rest of us of rare species
Every day a realisation
We live in diverse realities
Maybe you can call it random thoughts
All the issues continuously
Forward brought

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-01-11. The Rhino is a species nearing extinction in the wild due to the relentless poaching to feed a belief that it has some properties to increase virility. What to do?

I'ts in our Hands

Kitchen Battles

The lines on my hand
Slowly maturing
Minor skirmishes
Enduring
Like the accidental lick of a knife
Only the onion
Lost in the strife
This time
No blood flowing
A wondering mind
Every so often
A liability
The lamb stew
Still kept going
For every cook
A risk
Worth knowing

Today I almost cut off the tip of my finger. Luckily I woke up in time!
Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-01-10.

Dancing Dust

Dancing dust
Buries
The world in white
My patch
No longer
Black
A temporary
Reprieve
Fissures
Momentarily
Healed

Dancing dust
Blue gold
Torturous cold
Comforting warm
Our first home
Sealed in
Violently ruptured
A new life
Captured
An original beginning
Elsewhere
Conceived

Dancing dust
In billions counted
Hours of pleasure
We revel in the piles
Sculpturing nature
Whiling away time
Beware
Of a whiteout
Gloriously romantic
Snowflakes glittering
In the night
A gift to the north
An occasional manifestation
Somewhere south
I’m still captured
Staring
Call it ‘new-comer’ doubt

By Simone Beartrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-01-09

Summer in my Mind

Escaping
Summer’s heat
Scorch me
The oak’s company
Makes the sun play
Hide and seek
Golden brown
The skin on my cheek
Wet and cool
River stones
Scratching
Clumsy feet
Forever gone
A carefree youth
In many ways
Unique


Fallen Oak
I was not there
When it happened
A giant oak
Fallen
A special crossing
Created
My refuge
A respite
Rather than
A deluge

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2011-01-08. Dawn and I spent the whole week appreciating single old oaks and young saplings clinging to their leaves and oak islands in the middle of pine and birch forests. This took me back to ‘my own’ fallen oak in the bend of the Du Toit’s River where we used to 'swim'.


Counting Time
Fourteen
I can never
Catch again
Forty four
I’m not
Planning the end
Fifty four
Another
Decade to contend
Peace within self
Something
To attain

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2011-01-08

A meandering mind

When is the right time not to say “Happy New Year!” I am never sure of that protocol. The interesting thing is that the crafting community is already beginning to focus on the red and white Valentine’s Day stuff. The Christmas trimmings are still up whilst the bakers are already selling Easter buns. Time moves faster in the market place and every day we move closer to another birthday, another anniversary and another commemoration.

January is cool
February gives a chance to find love renewed
March quietly pushes on
April first usually collects unwitty fools
One May still the Worker’s Day
June suffers no fools
July can find you hot or wet
During this one we all try to be August
When September hits, the old year feels like it’s racing along
October leaves no time for fears
November clears the deck for Advent
December makes us wonder where the year went

Every year filled with breathing seconds set to come and go with great intent!

Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-01-07

Moving

Moving
North to south
We collect
Memories
Snow storms blundering
Pillage and plundering
No longer needed
Dark forests offer
Calm reassurance
Travellers’ tales emancipated
Comparisons
Reaching
A global scale

Moving
South to north
We collect
Life stories
Sampling cuisine local
Trekking
No longer require horses
Love and life
Seldom
Run in known tracts
Well planned courses
Calmly lumbering
Vicariously
Living through sons and daughters
Occasionally following
Wise old owl wisdoms
Moving forward
Better than
Mere existence

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2011-01-06.

Searching

Faded family pictures
Tell its own tales
Yesteryear’s dreams
Well captured
Sweet memories
By fewer and fewer remembered
Spring
Gradually turned to winter
The path we will all take
Eventually
Someplace
Other

Faded winter skies
Tell its own tales
Future dreams
Well measured
Bitter moments
By fewer and fewer treasured
Ideas gradually renovated
Bones transformed
Insignificant philosophies maligned
Eventually
Fresh insights
Entertained
Strained relations
Purged

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2011-01-05.

A firm Refusal

I refuse to let
The shade of the winter sky
Fill me
With melancholy
Instead
I want to lick the window pane
Tasting raindrops
Freshly deposited
A reminder
Yesteryear
Watching trees
Swing in the wind
Closer to when a life began
Slowly
The realisation
We are all moving to an end

I refuse to let
The winter wind
Blow fear into my heart
Instead
I admire
Tall trees resisting
An expected state of resting
Strength
Pulled within
Their collective voices
A welcome melody sing
Automatic forces
Slowly
Nurturing new courses
Inadvertently
Sprouting
New beginnings

I refuse to let
The biting cold
Force me indoors
Instead
Eyes wonder outside
Sweeping
Seemingly calm waters
Searching
Next spring’s promise
A fool’s errant
It is not
Only
Winter’s plot
Forcing
Revision
Every day does not require
Action
Decisions

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-01-04, from the upstairs window of the house in Rorvik (in the south of Sweden, Småland) with a view of the lake, a wind howling from the corner and the rain lashing the window (Storm Emil). The grey sky holds a promise that somewhere the sun must be shining.

How do you dance?

Do you dance
Swinging
Your hips
Like sticky peanut butter fingers
Left to right
Stirring
Back and forth
Life flowing
With the rythm and blues
Never mind the tune
The flavour of the day
Makes any hipster
In the moment
Swing and cruise

Do you dance
Shaking
Your shoulders
Like loose egg yokes
Up and down
Wobbling
Inside out
Settling
With rock and roll
Never mind the lyrics
The good ones lived in the 60’s
Makes any roller
In the moment
Rhyme with the blues

Do you dance
Tapping
Your toes
Like odd change
Jingle jangle
Jumping
All over
Still some
Conciousness left
Making any mover
In the moment alive
Loving music
Greater than
Only
Relishing the jive

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-01-03, watching Kaapse Klopse on Youtube and an SVT 2 documentary about the life of the late and great Janis Joplin with Anders and Dawn. What fun!

Yearning Soul

My soul
Yearns
For the heat
Of the summer sun
Like the hymns
We used to sing
Sunday afternoons
Perhaps it questions
What blessings
Will the future
Bring?

My soul
Yearns
Persistently searching for deeper meaning
Like a mothers’ love
Filled with treats
On Friday nights
Special occasion
Cooking secrets cherished
Perhaps it questions
What blessings
Can I
This world give

My soul
Yearns
Without reason
Perhaps it questions
Spirituality nurtured inside
Duality battled around
Life ticking every minute
Like the push and pull of the tide
Unique moments fostered
Many benedictions
Already
Gathered

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 02-01-2012

New Year Resolutions!

2012
Is here
Without any promises
Many wishes
... Expectations
To pursue
Another chance
Chasing old dreams
Searching
Hoping
Wanting
New
Opportunities

For the moment it is easy to ignore the growing waste-line and all the books we hoped to read last year, well this year we can always try again! As usual I’ve made my list for things to do this year.

Reviving this blog is on the list comments and feedback welcome!