Cathy Buckle's Weekly Letter From Zimbabwe !

56 DAYS!

Dear Family and Friends,

This week electoral authorities in Zimbabwe again stated that combined
Presidential, Parliamentary and council elections will not be deferred and
are to be held on the 9th March 2008. It is hard to believe that Zimbabwe
will be ready for an election in just 56 days time. The logistics of an
election are enormous under normal circumstances but mammoth in a country
which has all but collapsed.

There is no fuel at filling stations, no food in the shops, extremely
limited supplies of bank notes, electricity only in the middle of the night
and water off or dirty most of the time. Telephone communications are in a
shocking state with new cell phone lines only available on the black
market. Roads are falling apart, postal deliveries increasingly erratic and
in some areas - including mine - house deliveries have not been made for
three months. In rural areas there are reports of roads and bridges washed
away due to heavy rains and flooding - and so the list goes on and
on. Every aspect of an election from the campaigning to the advertising,
voting, monitoring and counting is swamped with problems - not the least
of which is that so far there is only one candidate and one party to vote
for.

Looking for sanity, even inspiration, in such bizarre times, I turned to a
book of poetry sent to me by an ex Zimbabwean. Every day of the year has a
poem and that prescribed for the 9th of March is by an unknown author.

Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn's rain.

When you awaken in the morning's hush,
I am the swift uplifting rush
of quiet birds in circled flight,
I am the stars that shine at night.

Do not stand at my grave and cry.
I am not there, I did not die.

We are a country dying but not dead - we still have hope. Surely this
poem for the 9th of March holds some prophetic meaning.
Until next time,thanks for reading,
love cathy.



Copyright cathy buckle 12 January 2008
www.cathybuckle.com
My books: "African Tears" and "Beyond Tears" are available in South
Africa from: books@clarkesbooks.co.za and in the UK from:
orders@africabookcentre.com