I went for a walk on the hottest day of the year, so far. 96 Fahrenheit, 36 Celsius. Hot no matter how you measure it. As my feet competed to be in front my mind wandered, and I found myself thinking about an upcoming trip to South Africa. We left there at the start of 1999, and made a new life in USA. We have never been back, and will see surviving family and friends for the first time in 25 years. This poem tries to explain to me, to myself, some of the thoughts that went through my head. I walked 6.5 miles. I needed the time, and I still do not understand the past, and the early me, and the decisions I made. That’s life, I think.

Walk boy, put one foot in front of the other,
when I was little this was wanted 
by my father and beautiful mother.
So I stood, I learned, I walked, 
and eventually I ran,
straight out of the lives of my Pappie and Nan.

I kept on running and chasing
always choosing my own direction,
my own pleasure and way I was seeking
guided by my inexperienced discretion.
I know I caused damage and pain, 
and along the way some understanding I earned,
often repeating mistakes until the lesson was learned.

I never stopped and stormed down my path,
it’s direction veering left, then right, 
then left again, what a laugh!
Only now that I am nearing the end, 
and I find myself on another continent,
do I start to see and understand
that walking the middle way 
might have been grand.

I now retrace my journey through time and space,
and hope to find my way back,
back to where I so long ago shouldered my pack,
and turned my back on the place 
where I took my very first steps 
that started this race.

I don’t know what I’ll find in my motherland,
but one thing is for sure, 
from the moment the plane land, 
and my hourglass there still have some sand, 
I will grab any outstretched hand 
of family and friends who still stand 
at the very place that I left behind.