Context:
Herman de Jong (1932 – 2004)
was once a fund raiser / development director
for Shalem and Friendship Groups
I shouldn’t have phoned
but telephone directories
don’t tell you
how old people are.
It took her a while
to reach the phone.
Ja? . . . Hello . . .
Her soft, tremulous voice
made me hesitate:
should I state my message?
I did.
Salem, you said?
Ach, ja . . . such a good cause . . .
but my husband died, you know?
But when he lived,
we always gave . . . ach, ja . . .
to so many good Christian causes.
On New Year’s Day
he’d get the shoebox
and dump it all on the table . . .
all the good Christian causes.
When he wrote the cheques
he always said: “so, now kenne se
weer effe vooruit!”* But now . . .
would five dollars be O.K.?
Sir . . . sir . . . are you there?
Quietly I put down the phone.
My voice would have been
more quivery than hers.
*so, now they can go on for a while
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