|
Ordering and payment can also be arranged
|
A Unique 40th Anniversary Gift A great idea for any anniversary, A Gift of Poetry is a truly romantic way of expressing your innermost thoughts and feelings.
Whether for your partner, parents or friends, an anniversary gift poem will make the day an unforgettable experience.
(Here's a good example of what can be achieved. Ntsiki wanted something special for her friends who were celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary. Ntsiki has kindly given her permission for her poem and story to be published)
What is your name :
Ntsiki Langford
What are the key messages you would like to send: - The Big Hearts that this couple has----never failing to show up to conduct weddings (Husband is an ordained minister who has conducted weddings and funerals for "unchurched" people who would otherwise not have a religious ceremony) The wife is industrious, creative (cooks, decorates, organizes functions, brings songs to events). This couple (Glory and Chris) is very dignified, and both have been role models of what a marriage means for their children and the larger community. They're very special in the hearts of so many!
Do you have any last comments or thoughts: I'm looking for a creative, unique piece. There will be a full audience where this card will be opened and read.
UBUNTU
I know of a little village,
it's a place not too far from here,
but sadly, it's a place torn apart,
it's full of atrocity, greed and
fear.
That's not to say it's a place
without hope,
because that hope is within us all,
it's an eternal flame,
but I think the village needs some
of our help,
bear with me, as I won't yet tell
you it's name.
Firstly, let me describe it to you,
on one side, there are all types of
treasure,
glistening gold, electricity,
medicine, gismos,
in fact, there's wealth beyond
earthly measure.
Now, this is the side where the
controllers live,
they preach love but practice another kind,
and if you had a look inside their
tiny brains,
well, the poor would be the last
things on their mind.
In the middle of the village, there
live many,
they're neither poor nor rich, they
just live,
but they too get caught up in their
earthly struggles,
and all too often, they too forget
how to give.
Now, if we walk through to the
poorer part,
there you'll just see struggle and
strife,
where disease, hunger and
starvation,
well, they're just an everyday part
of life.
And it seems so very strange to me,
how one village could get this way,
I think the villagers should hear
about Ubuntu,
and that one line leaves so much to
say:
Now Ubuntu is a marvelous spirit,
it's all around us and in the
heavens above,
it makes sense of all the
confusion,
it covers everybody with a blanket
of love.
It's at the very core of African
culture,
it's the ethos of humanness on
planet Earth,
it means feeding a stranger, caring
for them,
it's a recognition of every life
and it's worth.
It's giving a stranger a place to
sleep,
it's babysitting other's children,
it's learning to share,
it's about all chipping in and
helping,
it's proving to others that you
truly care.
It takes a village to raise a
child,
but there are many children with no
one to hold,
and we need to rescue the village's
children,
because they too, have a story to
be told.
But before I tell you name of the
village,
and I think I'll leave that until
the very last line,
I need to tell you about the Ubuntu
spirit,
because it's alive and well in two
friends of mine.
Chris and Glory Nteta are simply
beautiful people,
truly, they are Ubuntu personified,
and I know I couldn't have picked
finer friends,
I know I couldn't - even if I'd
tried.
You've both been involved in the
South African struggle,
and to many refugees, you've put a
roof over their heads,
and together, you've strode forward
with such purpose,
you've gone where many a mortal
rarely treads.
You are a couple with gigantic
hearts,
at times, they're even too big for
you chest,
and I know that I speak for all of
us here tonight,
Chris, Glory, you two are two of
the very best.
You share the epitome of a perfect
marriage,
and as role models, you've played
the perfect role,
you not only have an amazing depth
of character,
you have Ubuntu imprinted on your
very soul.
Now, for those of you that are
unaware,
Ubuntu means humanness, in all it's
glory,
Ubuntu describes a better way of
life,
and Chris, Glory, Ubuntu is your
story.
And at the start of these lines I
spoke of hope,
hope for a village that is as yet,
nameless,
but I think if we all lived like
Chris and Glory,
well, the village would be covered
in humanness.
And the village would change it's
ways forever,
watch it really soar with it's
Ubuntu sails unfurled,
of course, it would still be the
same shape,
but boy, that village would be a
different world.
Copyright Allen Jesson :) 2004
In the end, this work was a true collaboration. After the second draft, Ntsiki kindly replied:
This is great, I really like it!
|
Handmade & heartfelt
Please
for more
information..
..or please
to order
online since
1998
Please
for more
information..
..or please
to order
Anniversary?
Tell A
Friend?
Bookmark Page?
Press 'Ctrl'
and 'D'
|
|
