I often think about friends from the days when I lived in Rhodesia/Zimbabwe, and wonder what they are doing now, or even if they are doing now. I think of Matambo Gunde who worked for me for several years, both in my supermarket and on the land at home. When the time came for me to leave he shed many tears at my departing, having been with me for several years since he was about sixteen years old, and we had become close friends during that time. Then there are friends like Paul Mangate with whom I worked when I was employed by Singer. He and I were great friends, and we spent many a time putting the world to right. So many others come to mind, each one bringing pleasant memories forged by our friendship. How easily I recall Emmerson Ganza who worked with me when I ran a printing company. He had a love of fashion, and would usually be seen on shoes with huge heels!
Several years ago a Zimbabwean dance group came to perform at the theatre in Brecon, the nearest town to where I was then living, and I went to the performance which was not only enjoyable, but also stirred many memories in me of these friends from the past. In fact, so strongly were they stirred that I wrote the following poem:
Recollections of African friendships
Last night I sat in the half-dark of the theatre
watching and listening to Black Umfolosi;
seeing the ghosts of yesterday
moving silently in the shadows.
Moyo, Mangate, Takawira, Msikavanhu;
so close I could almost touch them
- almost hear their breathing.
I heard the voices calling from the stage
echoing louder than the distance of time;
bringing past and present together
in one loud dreaming moment.
Matambo, Ganza, Bepete, Chapurinyemba;
all ghosts from the distant past
- fleshed out by the men of today.
Colin Gordon-Farleigh © 2000
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