Unsophisticated

An unsophisticated mind

I nurture

Treasured

Are the most basic life pleasures

Recognition in a toddler’s eye

Spontaneous laughter

Alarming cries

Complicated books and movies

I will try

Another time

An unsophisticated mind

I treasure

Nurtured

Are the most interesting new skills

Slip stitch knitting patterns

Spontaneous baking

Relaxing feet high

Complicated music

I will try

Another time

An unsophisticated mind

I challenge

Explored

Are the most educating articles to read

Every topic selected new

Social economy blended with political curiosity

Curiosity

Engages an enquiring mind

Complexity seldom the issue

I find

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-03-12.

Sneaky Seasons

Winter returned through the back door

White the blanket all over

Spring disappeared

Like a lost lover

Winter returned through the back door

Fresh frozen buds all over

Summer lies in waiting

Like a hunting lion

Winter returned through the back door

Crisp the midnight sky

Bright the midday sunshine

Dark clouds gradually gliding by

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-03-31.

The Patient Gardner

A gardener’s hope

Rests in my soul

Every summer’s promise

Waiting

New investments buried

Much more than love

Growing

A gardener’s wish

In my heart carried

Every summer’s labour

Invested

New treasures gathered

Much more than beauty

Collected

A gardener’s expectations

Radiates all round

Every summer’s bounty

Shared

New varieties dared

Much more than dreams

Cultivated

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-03-29.

Stranger’s Stranger

A stranger

Amongst

Strangers

My voice

Reacts in words foreign

A mind

Tuned to connect

Local phrases explored

Special dialects collected

New brain cells stretched

A stranger

Amongst

Strangers

My mind

Reacts with ideas new

A heart

Tuned to connect

Foreign concepts to explore

Special wishes to collect

Dreams offer a future into infinity stretched

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-03-29.

Solidarity

Share with me a sisterhood I offer

Solidarity of the womb

Safety in numbers

It is cold at the top

Crowded in the trenches

Emancipation

A work in progress

Share with me an activism I offer

Solidarity for mother earth

Safety in numbers

A lone voice shouting

Crowded in the protest marches

Liberation

A work in progress

Share with me a crusade I offer

Solidarity in all things creative

Safety in action

Singular visionaries assembling

Imaginative spirits exploring

Artistic genius

A work in progress

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-03-27.

Communion

Give me some of your time I ask

We can sit in a circle

Beating African drums

Calling destiny into view

Staying to the self

True

Give me some of your vision I ask

We can sit in the kitchen

Drinking morning tea

Nurturing memories new

Staying to each other

True

Give me some of your support I ask

We can sit in the forest

Taking in the earth

Growing deep

Staying to life

True

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-03-27.

Windows

I peeked into my window to the past

Words trapped in cellulose

Recollected in a vacant daze

So many life-stories

Going to the grave

Understanding their legacy

Can possibly leave me

Avoiding certain tragedy

I peeked into your windows in the here and now

Pale blue the sky their dazed reflection trapped

A suffering so painfully protracted

So many happy moments accepted

Going to the grave

Understanding the path to follow

Can possibly leave you

Away from certain tragedy

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, in dedication to Ulfe, 2012-03-27.

Mutual Celebration

Give me love

You ask

Give me trust

I ask

I give you love

Un-questioning

You give me devotion

Un-relinquishing

Give me time

You ask

Give me time

I ask

Love and life

We celebrate

Death and love

We contemplate

My gift of love

You cannot buy

Your gift of love

I cannot sell

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-03-25.

Anxiety

The pain of death

Permeates

Waiting

Creates anxiety

Questions

Ideas of piety

Life never without worry

The pain of life

Permeates

Waiting

Questions

Ideas of piety

Death never without worry

The post for Saturday, 24 March 2012. By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe.

Digging Deep

Action Needed

Own up

To your ideas

Follow through

Life

Moving in circles

Trapped

Like a fish in a bowl

Broken

Somehow

Still

Incredibly

Whole

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-03-23.

We all have a bad day sometimes

The raw emotion of a stranger

Settles in me

Her pain

Has no immediate voice

Only silent tears

In a tissue paper disappearing

Our connection

However brief

Forever 

Lost

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-03-23.

Thursday’s Thoughts

We scratch and claw

Our way through life

Chasing dreams

Burying disappointments

Shame and pride

Intersect

No guidebook to inspect

Only hindsight

Not with twenty-twenty vision

Blessed

We boogie woogie

Our way through life

Rolling in fun and laughter

Wiping tears away

Innocence and curiosity

Genuflect

No flash player to refresh

Only joy

Not in eternal sadness

Trapped

We fall and crawl

Our way through life

Patching knees and climbing trees tall

Moving forward

Brokered relationships

Contract

No eraser to wipe mistakes away

Only living day to day

Not wallowing in pain

Tolerant

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-03-22.

Reflections

The bottom of my cup

An instant looking glass

Do I see

A stranger

Or someone

I deeply love

It seems like something

I want to contemplate

Is it because of the

Weather

Date and time of month

Perhaps just one of those

Melancholy days

The window in this room

Reflects two of me

Eyes blurred

A frowning face

I see

Is it perhaps

A true reflection

My current reality

Living now

Yearning after what can be

Chasing a liberation

I have long-ago

Achieved

The computer screen responds less honestly

Only a blur

My eyes can see

Bright the inflection nevertheless

Insight still leaves me

Feeling blessed

Why on earth

Do I feel this stressed

Surely very little to ever regret

Life can only be lived

Step by step

Occasionally I cannot help but wonder

Whose shoes

Did I today get?

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-03-21

FREEDOM CELEBRATED

Indoctrinated

Divide and rule

Scrapped

The policy Apartheid

No longer on the statute books

A battle we fought

By hook and crook

We waged war on racism

Solidarity once a hard won

Wondrous reality

Human Rights Day

Celebrates

No easy victory

Divide and rule

Alive

No longer on the statute books

Submerged, internalised, self-imposed

Witnessing battles in the street

Ethnicity fuels resource capturing

Solidarity

Trapped in a pained polarity

Nation building somehow unravelling

Disappearing my idealistic dreams

Maybe we never had

Collectivism in reality

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-03-20.

Entrenched

We talk and talk and talk

The reality of the world invades our space

Each element we discuss

Pervades set beliefs

In discussion

Seldom

Entrenched ideas

Fail to retreat

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-03-20

Slowly Lost

Occasionally

We get the chance

To have said

A proper goodbye

All the times

We joked and jeered

About

That time

Far into the future

When we will be

Unable to decide

Too old and sick

Life slowly

Creeping by

Occasionally

We take the chance

To contemplate

Where we would have liked to be

When that time arrive

Independent

Serene

Comfortable

The perfect dream

Growing old

A challenge

Not to withhold

Occasionally

More and more

We say goodbye

Sad farewells

Our elders

Leaving this earth

They gave us their best

All those days I followed you

Asking a million questions

Showing off child creations proud

Soon I will also be

Wrapped in an elder’s shroud

Waiting, wondering

How my old bones will respond

Silently waiting

Fighting loud

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-3-19.

Wandering Mind

See Me Please

I give you smile

You give me a smile

Every time we meet

Another moment passes

Growing familiriality

Perhaps the treat

I greet you

You greet me

Like strange dogs sniffing tails

We connect on a social scale

Human to human

Life moves forward without fail

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-03-18.

Wishing

Give me a lifeline

To the universe

I want to shout

A place to hide

Somewhere

To spy on the world

Make a difference

Stronger woman

Less scared girl

Give me a platform

On earth

I want to demand

Sharing ideas

Make meaningful contributions

Beyond words

Life on the wild side

Instead my hands are tied

Sitting on the couch passing time

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-03-18.

Trapped

Voices

Come alive

On paid TV

New ideas

Old visions

Reiterated

Life’s mysteries

Slowly

Obliterated

Only to listen

With an open mind

New lessons

Messages true

Misinformation

Messages blue

Trapped

Sad, sad stories

Poverty

Slavery

Opression

What to do?

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-03-18.

Expectant

What to write about today?

Write about Spring…

My love suggests

Except

We are still waiting

Its arrival late

The trees asleep

Soil still frozen

Seasons’ suspended

Climates

Upended

… Instead

I’ll write about the Spring

Of my childhood

Barefoot

Treading slowly

Through the morning dew

Greeting our mountains

Shining

In daybreak’s blue

I recall

Edelweiss blooms

Rambling roses

Peeking through

Sugar sweet nasturtiums new

Morning glories

Saluting the young moon

Our valley nurtures life again

We plaited

Namakwa daisy chains

Learnt about summer fruit blossoms

White and pale pink sweet

A rich victory

To the birds and bees

Chasing an innocence

Grown-ups can never retrieve

Way too soon
Summer’s heat descends

The mid-morning mirage

Rises relentlessly

Scorching
Bare feet

Lush
The fig tree retreat

Thirst quenching melons red and orange

Fresh like turtle dove plumage

Strong my remnant memories

Another season passed

Deep ideas I can still string

Little trickles concentrate cool and free

The river of life

Reborn every Spring

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-03-17.

Victory

Friday, 16 March 2012

The face of success
Is full of smiles
Shoulders high
A voice proud
Standing tall
Above
The crowd

The face of a warrior
Beams bright
Every battle
Celebrates victory
Adversity trampled
Building
New synergies

The face of stability
Radiates peace
Inner turmoil with outer calm reconciled
Chasing dreams wild
The chance to be
Arrive
Once in while
We all survive harrowing life trials

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-03-16.

Challenging Days

Expectations tempered

Give me your time
I ask politely
Just for now
We really don’t know
What tomorrow will bring
In life
That is the only
Sure thing

I’ll give you my time
I say clearly
Now and always
Despite not really knowing
What tomorrow will bring
In life
Planning ahead
Ideally the better thing

Not really our time
I realise slightly
Actors in the universe
Always instinctively questioning
What tomorrow will bring
In life
When growing older
Gaining experience is the positive thing

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-03-15.

Mother Dearest

A parents’ dilemma
We cannot live
Your lives for you
When you were small
We could insulate your spaces
Shield you from unsafe places
Hide all the unsavoury stations
Now no longer
We battle
More and more
Independence you seek
Our advice
Just
Old folk speak

A parent’s dilemma
So contrite
For our own independence
We had to fight
Costly mistakes
Made along the way
In adulthood
So little room
To swing and sway
One day
You might have children
To keep safe
Until that time
We still have to try
Forever bound
My child and I

A parents’ dilemma
No guide book
Is it the right path
That today I took
Tomorrow room to improve
Every day older
The bargain seldom too good
Closer and closer
We hope to be
Drifting apart
Maybe part of nature’s deal
Moments close
I still wish to steal
Like the times when you chose me
Out of necessity
My little baby

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, to all parents and children, 2012-03-15.

Movement

The Little Train

The little train
Drifts along the precipice
Homework on the way to school
Winter’s devastation
Suffers no fool
Life in the Alps
Seems normal
Not
The storybook tales imagined
Left behind
Idealistic dreamy
Childhood days of old

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, the small train on a narrow mountain rail pass winding down the valley through little tunnels and wire retention barriers from Les Diablerets to Aigle, Switzerland, 2012-03-14.

Shifted

Within five hours
We shift between places
Rubbing shoulders with strangers
Laughter
Masks
Sad faces
Every traveller
Moves through
Up and down
Phases
Exploring new ideas
Leaving lasting traces

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-03-14.

Waiting

Spring slowly
Warms the earth
Not yet
In this new season
At ease
The last winters’ cold
Still hovers
Like a tease

Spring slowly
Offers a wild promise
Not yet
Time to plant the seeds
Cope with the uninvited weeds
Once arrived
It acts with speed
Quickly gone
Be careful when you blink

Spring slowly
Disappear
My winter
Gradually settling longer
Old bones
Threaten to sleep later
Progressively
Moving closer to the maker
Bright the promise of colour
Deep bronzed shoulders
A welcome summer

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-03-14.

Walking the valley up the mountain

The acrid smoke
Of your later afternoon fires
Burns my nose
My mind
Fails to reconcile
Its vile taste with images of beauty
Vistas through my lens
Jagged edges
Tall trees holding onto the precipice
Smooth curves
Soon to disappear
Solar rays penetrating
Like laser beams
Coaxing endless little streams
Creating in each valley
An unique beat

The plastic bottle
In the middle of a stream
Irritates my senses
My mind
Fails to comprehend
Human ways hard to mend
Alpine slopes
Where rich and poor rub shoulders
Locals living with nature
Occasionally even falling boulders
Modern times mixing with traditions older
Ecosystems need a consciousness
Loaded with boldness

The buzzing fly
In competition with the singing birds
Anxiously waiting for summer
Soon sleeping trees will transform
Winter’s silhouettes into plump shadows
Every valley like a bride
In a new gown adorned
… At least in my thoughts
From this place
I will be long gone
Reverting to the images of a children’s fable
Alpine life will once again at the end of this brief sojourn
Be one of the stories in my barren stable



Words and picture By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-03-13, spending one afternoon walking around the village of Les Diablerets, Switzerland.

This and That

An Idol Observer

National pride
Pervasive
Respect permeates
Every life station
An observer
Always
Search for the familiar
Perhaps reality much more
Critical

National symbols
Omni-present
A culture tolerant
Evolved diversity
Pervasive
One flag, many voices
An interesting nation
From the outside in
The question begging
Would there be value in trading places
Blending remnants and leaving hints of original traces

Travelling the Metro and watching the people of Lausanne, Switzerland.
By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-03-12.


Going with the flow

Acceptance
So much easier than idle clatter
Going with the flow
Deep within battles raging
Maybe this hiatus the calm before the storm
New expectations
Somehow part of my norms

Questions
So much easier than finding answers
Going with the flow
Deep within battles raging
Maybe this curiosity part of nature’s velocity
New expositions
A reward for natural curiosity

Following
So much easier than taking the lead
Going with the flow
Deep within battles raging
Fresh concepts breaking the ice
New relations excavated
Most leading ideas chartered by the free of mind


By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-03-12.

Curious Cynic

A thousand lines
Race through my mind
Lost ideas crowded by worry
Life’s comical moments
Often
Not funny
Cynicism deep in my veins
The lighter side
Needs to remain

A thousand concepts in cyberspace
Social networks
Set the pace
Life’s serious moments in terra bytes framed
Often
The medium the master
Cynicism more and more pained
The serious side
Somehow trivialised

A thousand voices multiplied a million fold
Newer technology
Always have a firmer hold
Traces of history misplaced in the cold
Often
Ideas shrouded in mirrors and smoke
Cynicism forces the bubble to burst
Only to say
“I was the first”

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-03-11.

Wishes

Like a tractor
On a gravel road
I trudge along
Worldly possession
In trollies following
Another day
Passing by
Forty four years
Already gone
Suddenly
I seek more time

Like a plough
In hard soil
I tread deep furrows
Uprooting rocks
Tilling weeds
My promises
Slowly met
The earth yields
Whatever I expect
My course every so often
By others set

Like a tree
On a mountain
I wish to be
Roots seeking space in crevices cavernous
Claiming sustenance from the sky
Occasionally offering shelter to passers-by
Shaped by the elements
Wild and free
My gifts
Not by age defined
This earth in my presence
Maybe a place more kind

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-03-10.

Mone Blues

Nearly on a full moon
Your life
Came full cycle
We remain behind
Contemplating
Many issues
We have to battle
Your debts
Completely settled

Nearly on a full moon
My life
Continues
Another year
In its retinue
I still have the luxury to review
Make amends
Start anew
Other things to let go
Building cells new

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-03-09.
This piece was inspired by the almost full moon’s reflection on the clouds from the aeroplane window – thinking about my birthday and the impending burial ceremony of Uncle Alfie.

Gatherers

We will gather
To say farewell
In spirit
I will be there
Earthly remains
Laid to rest
Only memories and a few things left

We will gather
Many times more
Celebrating babies born
Gradually one by one laid to rest
Everyday living the authentic test
Collective peace
Always the true test

We will gather
For no special reason
Sweet company in every season
Spring, summer, autumn, winter
Child, youth, adulthood, mature old age
Each bringing a precious gift
Life sometimes seems like a blur passing too swift

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-03-09. We always have something to think about. Today I think about an uncle that will be laid to his final resting place and another year that passed for -- always the quest to be a better person.

Still On Side

My soul
Sails
Close to the wind
Every day
I grapple
With the concept of peace
Inner tranquillity
I chase blind
Frantic activity
All I find
A mind unruly
Ideas wild
Time
No longer really
On my side

My heart
Scorched
In life’s fires
Every day
I grapple
With the need to meet my desires
Inner calm
Occasionally my realm
A hurried spirit
I catch at times
Hands restless
Made by design
Time
Still
Not on my side

My feet
Shuddering
On glass shards
Every day
I scoff and scrape
With the choices I wilfully make
Inner voices converge as one
Doubt
Nurse hidden pain
Finally a mind
Nurturing logic kind
Somehow
Time
Still
On my side

By Simone Beartrice Naik Noemdoe

Treading Water

Self Portrait

Ruby red lipstick
My daily armour
Vivacious laughter
Shakes the pain
Seeking serenity
From time to time
Only mild promises
Remain

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-03-07.


No Regrets Please

Love withheld
The deepest regret
Forgiveness
The biggest test
Freedom yearning
Love nurtures pain
Eventually
We move on
Every tomorrow
Buries today
Next year on the horizon
Occasionally it is important to know
We can celebrate
Survival

By Simone Beartrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-03-07


Farewell

Give me time
I ask
This one last chance
To say goodbye
Your passing
Happened in such a short time
We were only beginning
To discover the
Me in you
You in me
Genes never a choice free
Now we say farewell
For you tolled the last bells

For Uncle Alfie Michaels, there was so much we needed to learn about you.
By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe.



Seeking to discover

I asked and you answered
A firm no
Another story untold
A peoples’ history
Slowly going
Your tale not one of failure
A heavy price
Might have been paid
Maybe you enjoyed
Some of your gains
Family
More than a choice
Today

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-03-07.

Traded Identities

Muted
Language foreign
Culture alien
Life transient
Change
Positive

Loud
Colours bright
Internal voices
Thoughts contrite
Rebellion
Static

Flamboyant
Ideas revolutionary
Peer pressure
Condescending
Diligence
Advantagous

Modest
Infinite possibilities
Proclivities fickle
Identities laboured
Important entities
Courageous

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-03-06.

Family

Blood and bones
Our connection
This deep association
Unexpected
Every generation
Nurturing its own triumphs
Battling our own demons
Decade to decade
Our memories
Entrench pain
Celebrating
Gains

Dreams and wishes
Our connection
Inner conflicts
We unexpectedly overcame
Pain underground
Our choices ordinary
Freedom
More than a wish
In reality bound
Shame
Shackled
A generation
Growing proud

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-03-05.

Everyone the Same

We all have
Moments of regret
Wasted time
Never to get back
Moving on
One day here
Another day gone

We all have
Moments of regret
Wasted ideas
To throw away
Moving on
On day there
Another day gone

We all have
Moments of regret
Wasted feelings
To throw away
Moving on
One day there
Any day gone

And then…

We all have
Moments of triumph
Cherished ideas
Treasured feelings
To keep
Moving on
Every day promises
A new tomorrow

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-03-04, sometimes it is all about something and not just about time wasted.

Life’s Montage

The mosaic of my life
Reflects
Colours light and dark
Spaces completely blank
Stretching endless
Yet not immortal
One day, I also
Will pass

The mosaic of this earth
Reflects
Colours light and dark
Spaces empty
Stretching endless
Constantly evolving
One day, I also
Will be part of its fabric

The mosaic of our lives
Reflects
Colours light and dark
Spaces empty
Stretching endless
Constantly developing
Every day, our destinies meet
Woven tightly, fraying slightly

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-03-03.


Cleansed

We don’t live our live
Counting regrets
Every day
Seeking only moments
To recall the very best
Laughter and pain
Divided by a hairline crack
Lessons
Always have an impact

We don’t live our lives
Only mending fences
Every day
Moving forward
Fighting not to be held back
Staying on well-known paths
Avoiding difficult tracks
Creating a view between
Imaginary ideas and known facts
Hope subconsciously nurtured
Death as in life
An activity frantic

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-03-02.

Lost and Found

My mind
Is lost
In memory lane
Moments easy
Hours surrendered to pain
Life occasionally
Just a daze

My mind
Is lost
In dream world
Wishes fulfilled
Promises empty
Open vulnerability
Seldom a tragedy

My mind
Is lost
In never land
Always possible that I can
Walk away from deliberate torture
Finding spaces to nurture
Greater equilibrium
Less deliberate inertia

My mind
Alive
Here and now
Through every living moment
I learn to bow
Humility the best jewel in my crown
We only thrive in communion with others
Collectivism a glad reality

By Simone Beatrice Naik Noemdoe, 2012-03-01.