A Tribute to Rev. Bob Steyn
I see you clearly –
Framed with humble grey suit
Centred with flaming chalice tie
Irreverent with peeping red socks
I see you clearly –
Furrowed frown echoing with emotion
Bristling brows dancing with animation
Crinklecut curls waving with wildness
I see you clearly –
Hunched in embracing conversation
Pursed in loving greeting
Drawing in smoky pleasure
I see you clearly –
Cradling a bewildered baby
Signing a watery cross
Affirming a yes to life
I see you clearly –
Extended arms in wide welcome
Cradling hands joining a nervous pair
Poetic voice invoking the prophet
I see you clearly –
Hands interwoven in sad prayer
Head bowed in painful remembering
Eyes consoling in enduring hope
I see you clearly –
Eyes tired with demands of work
Face lined with sorrow of others in need
Shoulders stooped with sickness of the world
I see you clearly –
Step light upon leafy mountain track
Being engaged among scholarly stones
Smile wide amidst bubbles of community
I see you clearly –
Embraced by bursting books ceiling high
Perched upon tiny stool in listening pose
Writing at huddled desk icon blessed
I see you clearly –
Gazing deeply into her eyes
Gently alighting a butterfly kiss
Beaming a love that makes you whole
I see you clearly –
Not only in cherished memories
But animated in living imagination
Independent of time and space
I see you clearly –
Engaging me in platonic dialogue as you teach me
Winking encouragement or raising eyebrows as you watch over me
Tugging and stretching the very canvass of my reality as you beckon to me
Wayne Visser © 2017
Book
Life in Transit: Favourite Travel & Tribute Poems
This creative collection, now in its 2nd edition, brings together travel and tribute poems by Wayne Visser. The anthology pays tribute to the likes of Nelson Mandela, Maya Angelou, Barack Obama, Antoni Gaudí & Leonardo da Vinci, and reflects on travels ranging from China and South Africa to Ecuador and Russia. Life is lived in the in-between / In transit / Between coming and going / Between staying and moving on / Between here and there / And what we call home / What we call settled or contented / Is merely a resting place / A station for refuelling / A nexus for reconnecting / A junction for changing direction. Buy the paper book / Buy the e-book.
