Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Singing in the Rain

 
WATERY WEDNESDAY
SINGING IN THE RAIN
(Parody to the well-known tune)

I'm singing in the rain,
Just singing in the rain
I've Daddy's umbrella as shelter again!
The rain plips and plops
I laugh at the drops.
I'm singing and laughing in the rain.
*
Let the stormy clouds fly
All over the sky
I laugh and I giggle until they blow by!
For I'm only three
And life is a spree!
I'm laughing and singing in the rain!
*
------------------------------------------------------------------

RHODESIAN RECOLLECTIONS
Once upon a time there was Camelot.
Once upon a time there was Rhodesia.
I am looking through the wrong end of a telescope.
And there, far away,
In a country that no longer exists,
I see a group of young girls
Whose youth no longer exists.
We are teachers.
The children we teach are white…..of course.

We are sitting on the stoep
Drinking Sundowners.
Life is good in Rhodesia……
On the surface at least.
And the surface is where we live.

This Breadbasket of Africa
Is abundant in everything;
Sunshine, soil, rains, manpower,
And goodwill.
Yes, goodwill.

But even the name is an insult
Named after a white man,
Cecil John Rhodes.

Do we care about that?
No.
For we are apolitical,
Careless, unimaginative
And wrapped up in ourselves.

Are we aloof?
No.
The black men with whom we come into contact
Are friendly and so are we.
We laugh together
We joke together.
But we never eat together.
For they are servants.

Heady stuff for silly little white girls
From the lower middle class.

'Here in Rhodesia, Mum, I'm waited on hand and foot'.

It is all so intoxicating.
The wide, wide African skies, the baobabs,
The chongololos, the flame trees, the kopjes.
And the possibilities of romance are thrilling;
Romance with a white man…….. of course.

So here we sit on the stoep
Drinking our Sundowners,
A handsome servant in a snow-white uniform
Hovering near.

But hey!
There's a young African standing in the dusty road,
Looking at us!
Could his name be Robert Mugabe?

*

7 comments:

Jim said...

Cute.

EG CameraGirl said...

Your first poem is sweet but your second disturbing.

I didn't know you taught in Rhodesia. Who knows what life would be like there in the 21st century if the whites living in the then Rhodesia could have looked ahead to the now Zimbabwe.

Diana said...

Was the little boy your grandson? He was very cute and I think that I enjoyed your rendition of signing in the rain much better!
Love Di ♥

Hootin Anni said...

Love it! The smile, the fun time and the little play on the song lyrics.

My Wednesday Post

Siromade said...

He's cute... I think he is singing Rhythm of the falling rain? hehe Lovely photo.

RAJI MUTHUKRISHNAN said...

Your two sides, Brenda, the two poems. The second one touches me deeply, the first one made me smile happily,seeing Gene Kelly there with the little boy.

Ann, Chen Jie Xue 陈洁雪 said...

I often sing I am singing in the rain. Can't remember who I was singing with yesterday as it has been wet the whole week. It could have been another crazy teacher like me.

Last friday, we had a big puddle, kids just dove into it, and then came into the offive for dry clothes.