(Haven’t blogged in so long, dissertation writing took over…still the news of Winnie Mandela’s passing hits hard. I immediately thought of Alice Walker’s Poem, “Winnie Mandela We Love You” see excerpts below)
Winnie Mandela
We love you.
If we had known you in a time of peace
we would have loved your peacefulness
your quiet so deep
it did not hear
the call
to fight.
We missed our chance.
Winnie Mandela
We love you.
In a time of war
we love your ferocity.
We love your vigilance.
We love your impatience
with killers
and charlatans.
We love your hatred
of the deaths of our people.
We love your hatred of despair.
Winnie Mandela
We love you.
We love your beauty.
We love your style.
We love your hats,
scarves
and various lengths of hair.
we love the passion in your body.
The fury in your eyes.
When you smile
We are amazed…
(from “Winnie Mandela We Love You” in Alice Walker’s collection: Her Blue Body Everything We know: Earthling Poems 1965-1990 (San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers, 1991)