In Memory of Zenani Mandela

Tragödie in Johannesburg: Nach dem WM-Eröffnungskonzert ist die 13-jährige Urenkelin Nelson Mandelas bei einem Unfall ums Leben gekommen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4bBff9aBRw&feature=related

Was für ein Schicksalsschlag für Nelson Mandela, was für ein tiefer Schatten liegt nun über dieser WM! Wie nah werden sich Freude und Trauer wieder einmal sein!


An African Elegy

We are the miracles that God made
To taste the bitter fruit of Time.
We are precious.
And one day our suffering
Will turn into the wonders of the earth.

There are things that burn me now
Which turn golden when I am happy.
Do you see the mystery of our pain?
That we bear poverty
And are able to sing and dream sweet things

And that we never curse the air when it is warm
Or the fruit when it tastes so good
Or the lights that bounce gently on the waters?
We bless things even in our pain.
We bless the silence.

That is why our music is so sweet.
It makes the air remember.
There are secret miracles at work
That only Time will bring forth.
I too have heard the dead singing.

And they tell me that
This life is good
They tell me to live it gently
With fire, and always with hope.
There is wonder here

And there is surprise
In everything the unseen moves.
The ocean is full of songs.
The sky is not an enemy.
Destiny is our friend.

Ben Okri