Today we want <\/p>\n
to thank you, dear Lord <\/p>\n
for what you have already done & given<\/p>\n
Everything that happens <\/p>\n
is Thy Will<\/p>\n
You are the One <\/p>\n
that gave us Bra Hugh<\/p>\n
Only you alone knew <\/p>\n
for how long <\/p>\n
You are the One and Only <\/p>\n
that took him away<\/p>\n
Only you alone know <\/p>\n
the mystery of life & death
\nWe will not wait <\/p>\n
until his ashes <\/p>\n
are buried in African soil<\/p>\n
Dust to dust<\/p>\n
We are not going to wait <\/p>\n
until buildings & streets <\/p>\n
are renamed after him<\/p>\n
We are not going to wait <\/p>\n
until the poems have been recited <\/p>\n
& the speeches written & presented <\/p>\n
in the backdrop of soul haunting music <\/p>\n
& images of inequality
\nWe cannot wait <\/p>\n
until men without shoes <\/p>\n
have bought new ones <\/p>\n
to avoid being chased away <\/p>\n
and those who complain <\/p>\n
about the design <\/p>\n
of their suits & dresses <\/p>\n
have their orders delivered <\/p>\n
to portray the profile <\/p>\n
of being “somebody” important
\nWe wish to thank you right now<\/p>\n
We cannot wait <\/p>\n
until Bra Hugh wakes up <\/p>\n
to see that we now dress <\/p>\n
like Africans, <\/p>\n
whatever that means
\nWe are not going to wait <\/p>\n
until haters say sorry <\/p>\n
for the things they said <\/p>\n
about Bra Hugh<\/p>\n
& the way they treat some mourners<\/p>\n
Or until his detractors <\/p>\n
retract their condemnation <\/p>\n
of this son of the soil
\nThe worst thing <\/p>\n
that could have happened <\/p>\n
to this special man boy would be <\/p>\n
for people not to talk about him<\/p>\n
Everybody good & bad <\/p>\n
have something good or bad <\/p>\n
to say about him<\/p>\n
That, in itself, will not take <\/p>\n
anything away from him<\/p>\n
He was who he was true to self <\/p>\n
It is what it is
\nWe are not going to wait <\/p>\n
until the tears dry up <\/p>\n
& the pain is gone<\/p>\n
In fact, that is not going to happen <\/p>\n
anytime soon<\/p>\n
We shall allow those <\/p>\n
who want to mourn & lament him <\/p>\n
including watching proceedings on TV<\/p>\n
to do what they need to do<\/p>\n
to bring closure<\/p>\n
It is the end of an era
\nWe want to thank you right now <\/p>\n
for a strong & courageous manchild <\/p>\n
who did not want us <\/p>\n
to shed any tears for him<\/p>\n
He gave us the serenity <\/p>\n
to accept that <\/p>\n
which we cannot change<\/p>\n
Not all will be on the list <\/p>\n
for a private burial<\/p>\n
It is what it is <\/p>\n
exclusive
\nWe are not interested to know <\/p>\n
what his financial situation was like <\/p>\n
or who he owed for this or that<\/p>\n
What we know <\/p>\n
is that he has paid all his dues<\/p>\n
done everything <\/p>\n
that needed to be done <\/p>\n
which has been done <\/p>\n
There is nothing to add
\nWe want to thank you <\/p>\n
for this great son <\/p>\n
who brought nothing to the world <\/p>\n
& will take <\/p>\n
no material wealth with him<\/p>\n
Nothing at all<\/p>\n
Dust to dust <\/p>\n
Ashes to ashes <\/p>\n
All we have now <\/p>\n
that which he left <\/p>\n
are the footprints <\/p>\n
of love care & tenderness <\/p>\n
in the hearts <\/p>\n
of those he touched
\nWe are not going <\/p>\n
to seek his children <\/p>\n
or wake them up <\/p>\n
to tell them <\/p>\n
what a legend & icon <\/p>\n
their father was<\/p>\n
We are not interested <\/p>\n
in the number of women<\/p>\n
he married or did not <\/p>\n
There will always <\/p>\n
be hangers-on & opportunists <\/p>\n
who will want to use his passing on <\/p>\n
to claim <\/p>\n
how much Bra Hugh loved them
\nBut they have nothing to say <\/p>\n
about how they loved him <\/p>\n
or to show how they supported <\/p>\n
to institutionalize <\/p>\n
his dream & vision <\/p>\n
for an Academy of African Arts <\/p>\n
to promote protect & preserve <\/p>\n
African arts, culture, history & heritage
\nWe just want to thank you right now <\/p>\n
that he had a dream & a vision <\/p>\n
for a man or woman <\/p>\n
without a dream <\/p>\n
nor a vision <\/p>\n
is like a broken winged bird <\/p>\n
that cannot fly
\nWe thank you <\/p>\n
for this visionary & dreamer<\/p>\n
His stubborn spirit lives<\/p>\n
without any rest <\/p>\n
until there is <\/p>\n
justice for all
\nWe are not going to wait <\/p>\n
until we are accredited <\/p>\n
to be VVIPs <\/p>\n
that will be part <\/p>\n
of the throngs of family <\/p>\n
& selected friends <\/p>\n
privileged to attend <\/p>\n
a special exclusive funeral
\nWe understand <\/p>\n
Bra Hugh was a popular <\/p>\n
& highly gifted artist <\/p>\n
yet a simple & ordinary man <\/p>\n
who did not desire <\/p>\n
any special treatment <\/p>\n
by a government he felt <\/p>\n
was constantly betraying its promises <\/p>\n
to the people
\nWe are going to admit right here & now <\/p>\n
that not everybody understood <\/p>\n
that Bra Hugh <\/p>\n
was a talented musician <\/p>\n
who was a radical revolutionary <\/p>\n
Above all, he desired <\/p>\n
that African people determine <\/p>\n
their own fate <\/p>\n
to own the mineral wealth <\/p>\n
of their land & country<\/p>\n
Every nation belongs to its own
\nWe want to thank you right now <\/p>\n
for this son of the soil <\/p>\n
who has been aptly defined as <\/p>\n
a quintessential Pan Africanist<\/p>\n
for that is what he was <\/p>\n
to all those few with eyes to see
\nWe are not going to wait <\/p>\n
until the liberation movement <\/p>\n
transforms itself <\/p>\n
into a sleek political party <\/p>\n
that transcends <\/p>\n
man-made problems <\/p>\n
of bribery, corruption
\nWe are not going to wait <\/p>\n
until the violence<\/p>\n
& deadly political divisions <\/p>\n
have been resolved <\/p>\n
& the leadership knows <\/p>\n
the genuine meaning of unity<\/p>\n
an ideal that Bra Hugh lived for <\/p>\n
the return of the land & country<\/p>\n
to its indigenous owners
\nWe know things <\/p>\n
will not get easier <\/p>\n
anytime soon <\/p>\n
This is a time <\/p>\n
of “phuma ngingene”<\/p>\n
It is our turn to eat<\/p>\n
where everyone seeks <\/p>\n
to be prominent & important <\/p>\n
through the ill-gained money <\/p>\n
& more money in their bank accounts <\/p>\n
that will always <\/p>\n
be accumulated <\/p>\n
at the expense of Bra Hugh’s people
\nWe have become <\/p>\n
part of a system <\/p>\n
we fought against<\/p>\n
Gobblization it is <\/p>\n
we in the belly of the beast
\nWe are going to thank you right now <\/p>\n
for this man <\/p>\n
that you gave a trumpet <\/p>\n
at a tender young age <\/p>\n
to blow it so loud <\/p>\n
to bring down the walls <\/p>\n
of inequality and injustice<\/p>\n
We must thank you right now <\/p>\n
for the consciousness & renaissance <\/p>\n
that he espoused & lived<\/p>\n
Justice & equality for all
\nSome among us feel <\/p>\n
strangely alive today <\/p>\n
brushing shoulders <\/p>\n
with the living dead <\/p>\n
who have sold out <\/p>\n
for personal interest & recognition <\/p>\n
We want to thank you right now <\/p>\n
for Bra Hugh who made the lowly <\/p>\n
feel kingly & uplifted them <\/p>\n
through the power of music<\/p>\n
in death
\nWe are thanking you right now <\/p>\n
Bra Hugh has joined the dead <\/p>\n
that are not dead<\/p>\n
He is said <\/p>\n
to have fought death to the end<\/p>\n
But how could a man <\/p>\n
who loved & lived life to the full <\/p>\n
not know that <\/p>\n
the fear of death is the fear of life <\/p>\n
for life & death are twins<\/p>\n
His spirit lives forever<\/p>\n
We will celebrate his music
\nWe are thanking you <\/p>\n
for you are the One & Only <\/p>\n
who sent us the Son of Man <\/p>\n
who walked through <\/p>\n
the apartheid valley <\/p>\n
of death & destruction <\/p>\n
& came out alive
\nToday those who chose <\/p>\n
to have a role model <\/p>\n
who has shown the way<\/p>\n
that Africans have the ability <\/p>\n
& opportunity to give the world <\/p>\n
a human face <\/p>\n
to turn Azania <\/p>\n
not into a gangsters paradise <\/p>\n
but a beautiful land <\/p>\n
of equality & justice
\nWe thank you Lord <\/p>\n
for giving Bra Hugh <\/p>\n
the spiritual resilience <\/p>\n
not to give up <\/p>\n
in the face of bribery & corruption <\/p>\n
an inherently evil system <\/p>\n
that lures Africans to forget <\/p>\n
who they are as a people <\/p>\n
who are the cradle of human kind
\nWe thank you <\/p>\n
for you have forgiven us <\/p>\n
for teaching our children <\/p>\n
foreign tongues <\/p>\n
while they cannot speak <\/p>\n
indigenous languages <\/p>\n
that carry their intelligence <\/p>\n
& creativity<\/p>\n
the culture & soul of the nation
\nWe wish to acknowledge <\/p>\n
that Bra Hugh <\/p>\n
exhorted African women <\/p>\n
to not wear other people’s hair <\/p>\n
to learn to love & accept themselves <\/p>\n
as they are the original people <\/p>\n
created in your image & likeness
\nWe are not going to wait <\/p>\n
for another hour or day <\/p>\n
but wish to express <\/p>\n
our profound & profuse thankfulness <\/p>\n
to the life & times of Bra Hugh<\/p>\n
before he wakes up<\/p>\n
from the dead
\nThank you God<\/p>\n
We also thank <\/p>\n
the African ancestors <\/p>\n
for everything <\/p>\n
that we have received <\/p>\n
through Bra Hugh<\/p>\n
We know through him that <\/p>\n
God is one of us<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Today we want to thank you, dear Lord for what you have already done & given Everything that happens is Thy Will You are the One that gave us Bra Hugh Only you alone knew for how long You are the One and Only that took him away Only you …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-68","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.sandilememela.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.sandilememela.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.sandilememela.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.sandilememela.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.sandilememela.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=68"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.sandilememela.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":69,"href":"https:\/\/blog.sandilememela.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68\/revisions\/69"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.sandilememela.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=68"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.sandilememela.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=68"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.sandilememela.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=68"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}