Maluleka - Follow Your Dreams

Follow Your Dreams Thabo Maluleka AuthorHouse UK Ltd. 500 Avebury Boulevard Central Milton Keynes, MK9 2BE www.authorhouse.co.uk Phone: 08001974150 2011 Thabo Maluleka. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author. First published by AuthorHouse 6/25/2012 ISBN: 978-1-4670-1033-7 (sc) ISBN: 978-1-4772-1780-1 (ebk) Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only. Certain stock imagery Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them. Contents Poetry is my passion. Writing and reading poetry has always tickled my fancy. I thank the almighty God for the aptitude to write and publish yet another poetry book. I hope my poetry and writing style improves for as long as there is oxygen in my brain.

I am grateful to my family for their continued love and support and reassuring interest in my work, for without them I would not be where I am today. My family is a blessing. Phenomenally the dark clouds are giving way to the blue sky Philosophically the rain clouds are gathering Gathering to sing their rain songs Gathering to provide the mother earth with their irresistible cold little drops While at home Allow me to look through the window While at the sea Let me look up For there is poetry in the sky The mere sight of the dark rain clouds is awe-inspiring Their movement when they inter-change positions is artistic Like a jealous husband They shield the bright sun and the blue sky from public view With pure artistry They proceed to shield the pretty moon and the shining stars when night comes They are gathered, oh mama, To hold parliament as to how and when to provide mother earth with their cold little drops The lightning flashing through them is beauty untold Whenever the great rivers flow Flowing from the east to the west Flowing from the north to the south Whenever the great rivers flow Flowing in all directions Allow me to look up, oh mama, Let me look up, oh daddy For there is poetry in the sky Beautiful from a distance Quiet like the world of the dead Turbulent in bad weather conditions Friendly and welcoming In perfect weather conditions Lonely skies, oh, lonely skies You whose guests are never invited Moan not to the neighbouring heaven Whenever I make noise to you Through the sound of my aero plane engine For I keep you company I am traveling, lonely skies To other countries on the planet Countries far away from my native country Passing through you In the quiet hours of the night Is the fastest way to bridge the distance Complain not whenever I do this, oh, lonely skies For I keep you company Pride yourself Tlakale Mashashane Pride yourself school of unfloundering academic excellence Under the leadership of your evergreen and exemplary head Capably supported by the dedicated, determined and disciplined teaching of your teachers There is no reason not to pride yourself For you have the cream of South African teachers To marvel at your consistent peerless achievements In the matric results Administered by the Department of Education In the Republic of South Africa Is to follow your progress To celebrate youre coming of age Is to admire your legend Tlakale Mashashane did you know? No you didnt know For if you knew You would have told me Now let me tell you Let me let you know You are the school of undisputed academic excellence Your excellence is unanimous You encourage hard work You instill confidence To me you are the school of excellence The foundation of all ideas The birthplace of all opinions Opinions that but inform the decision of a career Sing your own praises Tlakale Mashashane Rivers flow When the rain falls Learners wise up When you teach them Pride yourself pride of Mashashane To put pen to paper And write you a pretty poem In the company of my vocabulary Is to remember the profitable years I spent under your tutelage What a privilege? I am part of your history You are part of my history I am proud to be your product You contributed to my legend Tlakale Mashashane I wish for your reputation to grow in leaps and bounds I wish for you to reach for the sky Yes, to reach for the heights above Your teachers teach And your learners learn Above and beyond the syllabus Your teachers teach discipline They encourage learners to burn the midnight oil This might sound philosophic and poetic But it surely gets learners to the next level When they so do School of excellence With class works and home works You make your learners focus on their school work With tests and assignments You prepare them for their ultimate test The year-end exams Whenever your learners complain about the volume of work You tell them to persevere For it is the mother of success You tell them to work hard everyday And when they so do They manage to pass their year-end exams Oh, they stand the test of time Tlakale Mashashane Whenever your teachers get going with the syllabus They are like music and poetry They do their best And they get the best In terms of results, that is You have established yourself You are now a force to reckon with A giant among giants A secondary school Every learner dreams of attending Pride yourself Tlakale Mashashane Pride yourself pride of Mashashane Like the clear unclouded sun That rises daily in the east Your learners wake up everyday To be under your tutelage The knowledge that your teachers impart in them Makes their heads overflow The information Flowing from your teachers to your learners Is sweet to their ears Sweeter than the good ancient African stories Narrated by gifted African historians To the deeply attentive African children The bright pretty moon appears in the sky She shines perfectly at night And all eyes can see her Those who know the meaning of beauty admire her For she outshines the galaxy of stars Tlakale Mashashane If the post-primary learning centres in Mashashane Be the blue sky You are the pretty moon Far and away You are the leading secondary school in Mashashane Your reputation precedes you To desire to be Under your tutelage for a lifetime Is to wish to be forever young School of excellence Look at the sunshine as it gets through the windowpane Listen to the noise of the silent drops When they kiss the rooftops During a midday summer rainfall And pride yourself Look down upon no fellow When blessings upon your life multiply For the fortunes of time be unknown Take away no ones dignity, pride and joy When the rain upon your life fall For the day of the rainbow be unknown Kingdoms rise Before they fall Leaders come Before they go The sun rises Before it sets The moon shines Before it fades away Relationships sparkle Before they disintegrate Roses bloom Before they wilt Riches increase Before they decrease People ascend Before they descend Times pass And circumstances change Success disappears And wealth diminishes Be humble And improve the content of your character For pride comes Before a fall In life Nothing lasts forever Not even the good times For they come and Before you know it They are but a memory Storms clear Mourning passes And sorrows end Opportunities open Before they close Behold the changing fortunes of time The strong grow weak The weak grow strong Journeys begin Before they end Never play big On a small farm For in time Life humbles the proud and the arrogant Fortunes change in life Sometimes For the better Sometimes For the worse Some heroes become villains Power doesnt last forever And luck runs out Nothing is permanent in life Be grateful whenever you are favoured For in time The last might come first Celebrate your successes and achievements But never employ unconventional means to attain them For in time Secrets come out in the open Even the deep, dark, scary and closely guarded secrets Time always finds a way to bring them into the light Many rivers flow passionately Their waters cover their banks And they look the part Yet they run dry With the passage of time Times change Friends become enemies Enemies become friends Families break up Families make up Partners part ways And the mighty fall Nothing stays the same in life And nothing ever will There is a place for desire in your heart Your mind comprehends determination Your imagination goes farther than your eyes can see Your dreams are noble Your aspirations are alive Your inspiration knows no limits Take steps to success Desire to achieve Dare to dream Amid the ups Amid the downs In this fast changing world Follow your dreams Follow your dreams And make it to the top Follow your dreams And take your place amongst the very best in the world You can be the best the world has to offer The finest in your discipline The greatest there is If you follow your dreams You dont have to come from a rich family To make it to the top in life It doesnt matter if you come from a broken family But it matters that you have a dream For in life Success comes to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams Follow your dreams For life without a dream Is like music without rhythm Yes, not worth living To visualize yourself taking centre stage To imagine yourself on top of the world To picture yourself enjoying the fruits of your success Is to understand what your dreams may come Cast your eyes upon the sky Admire the beauty that is the pretty moon Hail the purity in her brightness When she shines uninhibited By the transparent clouds and the beautiful stars The perfectly rounded miracle in the sky She flaunts her beauty to the applauding universe She shines on even when covered by the clouds Let her shine Oh, let her shine For she is the bright pretty moon Amid the challenges That life throws at you Through your trials and tribulations Shine like the pretty moon In the mist of your problems In the face of adversity Do not lose your hope Keep believing in yourself Focus on your beautiful dreams And shine like the pretty moon Pretoria-South Africas jacaranda city Home to the Union Buildings Home to the South African Reserve Bank The mighty defender of the Rand The famous South African currency Listen to my good news, oh, fellow citizens of the world The good news about the midday summer rainfall For the midday summer rainfall in Pretoria Is as fantastic as a journey across the world Yes, the blue skys earthly counterpart Whenever the midday summer rain falls in Pretoria Swallows come out to play Windowpanes play host to the many cold little raindrops Jacaranda trees marvel at the rain fall And with joy the green grass sing their hearts out Whenever the midday summer rain falls in Pretoria The flowers celebrate with passion The rivers hope for many more Nature lovers look, with unparalleled admiration, outside through the windowpanes The purists wait for the natural smell that follows the rainfall Coming from the trees, coming from the ground The smell that but refreshes the overworked mind of humankind Limpopo Province of South Africa Land of myth and legend I am enthralled by your beauty Your open spaces Go on and on Your majestic mountains Are a sight to behold Your rivers flow endlessly Your forests are lush, green and silent Your hills are old and beautiful Your caves are deep and ancient Your mountain ranges are curvaceous Your roads are long and winding Your waterfalls are state-of-the-art Your heritage is rich Your history is well documented Your dams are perfectly perched Your valleys are breathtaking They capture my imagination Your ploughed arable land When inhabited with plants Growing from the seeds beneath the ground Is a source of visual wonder The author of visual poetry Limpopo Province You are an eco-tourism wonder A nature lovers dream Your beauty is permanent Do I go to your dams, rivers, mountains, bushes, parks, game reserves or plantations? I am spoilt for choice I am lost for words I am out of adjectives Oh, Limpopo Province Province of rich tradition, culture and wonder Home of the Baobab tree How beautiful art thou Life without your friendship Would be like music without rhythm Life without your friendship Would be like poetry without ideas You are a friend I have A friend I had A friend I will always have Whenever the north wind blows Whenever I witness the coming of new seasons Seasons of hopes Seasons of dreams I remember you my friend For you are to me like a gift from all parts of the world I wake up early in the morning To look at the bright morning sun And say Oh the sun is bright and shining Just like you my friend For your friendship to me Is better than the unclouded morning sun I hear the cry Of a weeping child I feel the pain Of a hurting heart The sobbing mother Wipes her tears I feel the pain In her bleeding heart Uncontrollably she cries For her breathless loved ones gone forever Never to be part of her life anymore Thanks to the brutality of the powers that be No one deserves a brutal death Have mercy on society Oh, you powers that be The night you own The jungle you fear not The law you hardly obey You strike in cold blood You hit and run You give no thought to the aftermath of your actions You are all about shortcuts to success Many an innocent lives You have prematurely ended Many a futures You have doomed Many a families You have destabilized Many a bright shining lights You have dimmed Change your ways And come to repentance Oh, you powers that be You shine like the stars in the sky You glitter like gold and diamond Like a river Your personality flows Your name will be remembered by all and sundry For in everybodys heart and mind It is as permanent as the sky Easy to remember and difficult to forget Your confidence is as high as the mountains Your energy and enthusiasm are something to write home about They are unmatched, unequalled and unparalleled Anywhere in the world You will be remembered for your hard work and skills For they are supreme You will be remembered for your contribution For it is more valuable than silver and diamond Your ability is demonstrated by your dynamism The quality of your work is testimony to your experience and competence To work with you is to learn a lot To learn a lot is to work with you You work hard and smart like a mastermind You issue instructions perfectly and correctly like a maestro To look up to you is to be inspired To be inspired is to admire your style and professional attitude You are the hardest worker below the sun Your commitment to your work is second to none You work according to the book You guide and instruct the juniors according to the rules Your work is as beautiful as the world To look at your work is to witness beauty Over and above your status as a character and a good personality You are a very important asset to this world A non-depreciating asset A contributor to the South African economy You have skills in abundance Your knowledge is supreme Congratulations and good luck May your pastures become greener and greener And may all the Heavenly blessings be upon you To go forth in your career Is to reach for the stars To reach for the stars Is to attain success To bid you farewell Is to say goodbye To say goodbye Is to wish you well Like Apollo reach for the moon So can you reach for your dreams Like smoke disappears into thin air So can you turn your challenges into stepping stones Aim high Keep your focus Work hard Be smart Fear not the unknown Do away with complacency Have courage and strength Believe in yourself And you can become anything South Africa my land of birth South Africa my country of origin Whenever your citizens cast their votes Whenever your inhabitants cast their votes Look beyond the stars Look beyond the blue sky Look at the sunshine As it gets through the window pane Listen to the rivers that flow Listen to the birds that sing And imagine what life could have been Had we not attained freedom Today we talk about affirmative action We talk about democracy We talk about equality before the law All this because of freedom South Africa The country of humanitarians, diplomats and intellectuals Look at the little raindrops That crowds the window pane Look at the unclouded sun And imagine what life could have been Had we not attained freedom Fulfill your hopes Realize your dreams Go beyond your dreams Beyond a dream Life goes on Beyond a dream There are challenges aplenty Beyond a dream Lies other dreams Beyond a dream Many are the temptations Take care Avoid the pitfalls On your way to your dreams Push yourself Work hard Be smart Achieve your goals Live your dreams But avoid the trappings of success Clip the birds wings And dare it to take to the sky Cut the locusts wings And see it walk to its destination Sitting atop The summit of a mountain Eyes cast to the west Watching the sun set Thinking deeply With a heavy heart About the underdeveloped Disadvantaged by the ruthlessness of the passage of time They wake up daily To be at the mercy of time Nothing rings a bell to them That time waits for no man They lead their lives Unaware of the pace at which the world is moving ahead By design or default They incur the wrath of the passage of time For time moves at an incredible pace And at times it catches even the developed off guard To them Life brings no joy It is all about catching up They spend all their time chasing time They admire the birds of the forest Whenever they take to the sky They can never fly themselves For their wings be broken by the passage of the ruthless time They did little in their downtime And achieved little in time Their achievements are rendered inadequate By the passage of time They stumble and rise They rise and fall Freedom they know not A good life they can only imagine Woman of Africa Woman of South Africa Salt of the earth Rose of the universe Builder of the planet earth Builder of a nation Pride of my family Nurturer of me and my siblings Lovely wife Loving mother Beautiful creature A great woman A good person I love her so much Words cannot express how much I love her She believed in me She embraced my dreams and ambitions She motivated me and inspired me Even in the face of adversity She didnt give me the world But she helped me create my own world So that when the dust settles And life starts to take shape I could fend for myself She raised me up with love She was passionate about me From her university I graduated with a Bachelor of Love Honours Bachelor of Care and Masters in Humility Degrees which I put to good use in my everyday life My incomparable sweet loving mother I love her so much. Poetry, oh, poetry How beautiful, how sweet Ancient art, lovely art Creative art Poetry, oh, poetry How pretty, how nice Your beauty is in your rhythm Your romance in your form Your intelligence in your ideas Your charm in your ability Your unparalleled ability to create a picture with words Give me a pen Give me a paper And let me write a pretty poem Poetry, oh, poetry How beautiful How delightful Its January I am broke I have hit the hard times My bank balance is zero I have exhausted my over-draft facility This is the longest month of the year I am waiting for month-end The African Continent The Asian Continent The European Continent The South American Continent The North American Continent The Antarctica Continent Sing the anthem Its January I am broke I am waiting for month-end The January international anthem Is a universal anthem Sung at the beginning of every year A place so serene An atmosphere so tranquil A landscape so beautiful An environment so breathtaking Away from the hustle and bustle of the city Away from the noisy sounds of the hooting cars Free from the demands of the office environment I awake To the sounds of the singing birds In a place of serenity Inhaling the unpolluted fresh air In a tranquil environment My mind feels at ease My body is refreshed My batteries are recharged My senses revitalized And my imagination renewed For I am surrounded by the worlds most amazing beauty Oh, I feel like a child in a sweets store My dear brother My friendly friend He is Nare Setati His heart is good His goodness is genuine So is his character He is Nare Setati Too good Too understanding Too thoughtful Full of wisdom He is Nare Setati Whenever he speaks He makes wisdom and knowledge As attractive as the waterfalls He is Nare Setati A man of patience His patience the world cannot match He is Nare Setati That he is helpful Is well known That he is compassionate Is beyond dispute That he is good Is gospel true He is; Assertive, amazing, artistic, arithmetic Black, bold, born again Confident, charismatic, courageous, compassionate Disciplined, determined, dedicated, dignified He is; Excellent, energetic, enigmatic, esteemed, easy-going Fantastic, fluent, focused Good, great, genuine, gifted, good mannered, God-fearing Humble, honest, honourable He is; Inspirational, intelligent, incomparable Jolly, joyful, joyous Kind, knowledgeable, knight able Loyal, loving, legendary, lyrical He is; Marvelous, magnificent, magnanimous Noble, nostalgic, nonchalant Organized, opinionated, orientated, oriented Phenomenal, philosophic, poetic, peaceful, passionate He is; Renowned, respected, respectful, responsible Smart, skilled, sublime, superb, successful Talented, thoughtful, tantalizing He is; Unselfish, understanding, unparalleled Versatile, virtuoso, very good Waltzing, wise, well behaved My brother My friend He is Nare Setati I think poetry Whenever I look through the window on a rainy day Whenever I look at flora and fauna Whenever I stand atop a mountain And cast my eyes towards the east, the south, the north and the west I think poetry Whenever I walk alongside the banks of a mighty river Whenever I walk slowly through a silent forest Whenever I stand ashore And look with awe at the mighty sea A visionary, a pioneer A writer, a story-teller A deep thinker, an intellectual A teacher, an academic A maestro, a leader A dreamer, an achiever A fighter, a winner A poet, a modern philosopher A perfectionist, an analyst A diplomat, a mediator A gentleman, a loving man A believer, a genius A motivator, a coach Adventurous, yet disciplined Disciplined, yet outgoing and fun-loving Outgoing and fun-loving, yet principled Several years ago In the great Limpopo Province Far from the beach Near the rivers and the mountains Near the mountains and the rivers Thabo Samuel Maluleka was born Born to be great Born with many talents Born to travel the less-traveled roads Bear with him, oh, dear people of the world For his passion defies analogy Oh, his enthusiasm is phenomenal Let him go to the east Let him go to the west Let him go to the north Oh, let him visit the south For he desires to witness all parts of the world I long For the days when kids would not be given too much too soon But taught the principles of life at a tender age Thereby preparing them for the challenges and demands of adulthood I long For the days when husbands and wives Would be faithful to each other and be together for better or for worse And boys and girls preserved themselves for marriage Massive, gigantic, colossal yet flexible Gigantic, colossal, massive yet agile Internationally dominant yet locally relevant A great firm So prestigious are your clients So informed, excellent and wonderful are your partners So gifted, marvelous and brilliant are your senior managers So extraordinary, talented, and knowledgeable are your managers So perfect, incomparable and out of the ordinary are your supervisors So passionate, motivated and always ready for action are your great trainees So professional and organized are all your members of staff Like the moon and the stars in the sky So bright are your people Your reputation is unequalled From sunrise to sunset Africa and the world cannot do without your professional expertise Seven days a week, twelve months a year Africa and the world rely on your professional excellence For who but no one in the world is as good as you are You re-engineer clients businesses You provide solutions to business problems You cater for clients needs across industries Your professional services are the best From the east side to the west side From the north side to the south You are loved by the market You are respected by your peers For your professional services are out of the ordinary They are professional services par excellence When the distance you have yet to travel Be less than the distance you have traveled When all the passion you had is gone And all you do is done In the name of passing the time When the light of the sun, the moon and the stars Grow dim for you And the rain clouds refuse to pass away When your arms That has protected you Will tremble and your legs grow weak When your teeth become Too few to chew your food And your eyes too dim to see clearly African child Child of the universe Never sink in the ocean of life Never give up your struggle for success Never surrender in your search for gold Swim to the other end of the ocean Where poverty is but a thing of the past Acquire the skills and the know-how To make it to the top in life Look at the sun and be inspired Look at the bright moon and be filled with hope For the moon be as bright As the future that we all hope for Remember that your background only determines what you are But not what you become For what you become is but wholly dependent Upon your determination to stand up and be counted Wake up early in the morning After a rainy summer night Before the air gets polluted Breathe the fresh air And take steps to a better tomorrow A tomorrow as bright as the galaxy of stars Life is a circle Sometimes you smile Other times you celebrate Sometimes you feel joy Next time you are sad Precious moments Make us bundles of joy They lift our spirits skywards Sad moments Test our resolve They dampen our souls Life is a circle And moments come and go Good times dont last forever Tough times never last They come and go In the circle of life Do not lose yourself In the moments of life Bow not your head in shame When your target you miss by a mile Keep your head up Do not sink When furiously the rivers of life Flow against all that you hoped to come good Control yourself Do nothing in the heat of the moment That will turn your life upside-down In the days to come Appreciate those precious moments Revel in them good times But do not lose your focus Neither be uncharacteristic Why cancel all the good you have done In the heat of a moment That is as certain to pass As the dust trading blows With the mighty wind? Search for wisdom Improve your judgements In the daily conduct of your affairs And know that Life is a circle And moments come and go Open your heart To the lost and the hopeless To the weak and the weary To the thirsty and the hungry Open your heart To the multitudes To the great and the least To the sons and daughters of humankind Exponent of knowledge Ambassador of wisdom Intellectual phenomenon Leadership maestro You are a gifted speaker An orator Your speeches are as powerful As the great Limpopo river Every time you line up a speech You look the part To take a closer look at you Is to comprehend the meaning of leadership To comprehend the meaning of leadership Is to take a closer look at you A brother A son A husband A teacher A preacher A dad A father A friend Humble Wise Loving Strong A community builder A family man A humble persona A once in a lifetime father The best of all the men The greatest of all the husbands The sweetest of all the souls He raised me In the best way he could I admire him For who he is Let my success Make him happy Let my being Fill him with joy .