Promise Kept
I
When Sidney died
I could have died
I could have cried
But fought to save my flat
African 'woonstel,' or 'apartment'
Under auction threat
By PRETOR, for "levies,"
Or security gate fees
Yet managed when I was overseas
By HUURKOR: getting off scott-free?
II
I promised not to write
(O, not for anger or spite)
I had paid due tribute
To F.W. de Klerk, Desmond Tutu
South African Nobel Laureates
Not when Sidney said farewell
I was tasting an iota of hell
But I needed to say something
Though I stopped identifying
As black ... when apartheid fell
Poitier still clings to part of me
As to all who celebrate humanity
Unexpected racial pride and strides
Knocks out more insidious apartheid
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