R. I. P. NELSON MANDELA

Funeral Blues

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message He Is Dead.
Put crepe bows round the white necks of public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.

He was my North, my South, my East and West.
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last forever; I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now: put out every one;
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun;
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood;
For nothing now can ever come to any good.

(W H Auden)

Thanks to my friend Jane on Facebook for posting the poem. Jane lives in South Africa.

ARCHBISHOP DESMOND TUTU ON NELSON MANDELA

I disagreed with him a number of times, firstly over his government's decision to continue to manufacture and trade in weapons and over Parliament's insensitive decision to grant itself big pay increases soon after coming to power. He attacked me publicly as a populist, but he never tried to shut me up, and we could laugh over our tiffs and remain friends.
....

The world is a better place for Nelson Mandela. He showed in his own character, and inspired in others, many of God's attributes: goodness, compassion, a desire for justice, peace, forgiveness and reconciliation. He was not only an amazing gift to humankind, he made South Africans and Africans feel good about being who we are. He made us walk tall. God be praised.

Read the tribute in its entirety.

The many tributes and eulogies thus far speak far more eloquently than I ever could about the great man.  I especially admire and respect Archbishop Tutu's words on the life and achievements of Nelson Mandela. The two men knew one another well and participated simultaneously in the struggle for justice and equality in South Africa. That Mandela spent 27 years in prison and came to freedom without bitterness is a testimony to his great strength of character.  Who better to speak the tribute than his friend Desmond Tutu?

May Nelson rest in peace and rise in glory. 

Photos from Wikipedia here and here.