The New Dawn_(1994 to present)
845 Words
I. A Nation Reborn
The year arrived, nineteen ninety-four,
A turning tide on Africa’s shore.
The old laws fell, the banners changed,
The Afrikaner’s world, rearranged.
The country is new, its colors bright,
Promised both hope and fearful night.
Yet in each heart, a voice remained,
Of ancestors, struggles, blood, and pain.
The farms still stretched across the veld,
The homesteads were strong, the barns upheld.
The children learned of history’s thread,
Of Voortrekkers, men who bled.
Yet now the world demanded more,
New laws, new ways, a different shore.
The Afrikaner faced the dawn,
Both were wary, proud, and battle-worn.
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II. Language and Identity
Afrikaans still flowed like a song,
Through city streets and farms so long.
The schools, the churches, libraries are vast,
Kept culture strong, preserved the past.
The poets wrote, the writers told,
The stories are old, yet freshly bold.
For language was the soul’s own tie,
A thread that time could not belie.
Yet globalization, fast and wide,
Brought new ideas on every side.
The Afrikaner faced both fear and chance,
To keep their roots, to join the dance.
They mingled skill, they kept their creed,
They worked, they built, they did the deed.
And though the world would challenge norms,
They weathered storms in varied forms.
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III. Faith in Modern Times
The church still stood, its bells rang clear,
Its message remains steady through each year.
The psalms still sung, the prayers still made,
Though new generations found a new shade.
Faith became a guiding light,
To steer through freedom’s day and night.
The Afrikaner held God’s hand,
While learning to embrace a new land.
Yet questions rose, as questions will,
Of justice, equity, and human skill.
They pondered the past, reflected deeply,
On promises their forebears keep.
Through struggle, change, and shifting roles,
They sought to strengthen heart and soul.
And in this quest, both fierce and bright,
They kept the flame of ancient light.
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IV. Economy and Enterprise
The veld gave way to mines and trade,
The Afrikaner skills are displayed.
From farm to factory, city street,
They labored strongly, their work complete.
Entrepreneurs and artisans,
Continued growth from elder plans.
The nation’s pulse became its own,
In business, craft, and intellect are shown.
They faced the challenges of a global sphere,
Yet drew from lessons, tried and clear.
The farming roots, the hands in soil,
Taught endurance, pride, and toil.
Innovation merged with a strong tradition,
As Afrikaners sought to right the wrong.
Through enterprise and careful planning,
They staked their claim in the modern span.
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V. Challenges and Reflection
Yet times were hard, and shadows stayed,
As South Africa’s new laws were laid.
Inequality, unrest, and crime,
Tested the courage every time.
The Afrikaner faced stark questions,
Of privilege, guilt, and history’s mark.
They debated paths both old and new,
To find the way, to see it through.
Some left the veldt, some stayed and fought,
Preserving land, preserving thought.
Communities worked to lift and aid,
To turn past sorrow into trade.
Education, service, care, and voice,
Became the tools to make the choice.
To honor the past yet face today,
The Afrikaner found a modern way.
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VI. Culture and Legacy
Festivals rang through towns and farms,
Preserving music, dance, and charms.
The language, stories, food, and art,
Kept Afrikaner identity at heart.
Museums held the tales of old,
The treks, the wars, the courage bold.
And children learned with eyes alight,
The history of both loss and fight.
From Voortrekker wagons, fields, and plows,
To modern cities, homes, and vows,
The people carried forward strong,
Their heritage is in every song.
Their legacy was neither meek nor small,
It was the soul of one and all.
Through centuries’ trials, dawns, and nights,
They held their faith, their hope, their right.
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VII. Looking Forward
And now the Afrikaner stands aware,
Of past and future, everywhere.
The world has changed, yet still they hold,
The stories, culture, and faith of old.
New challenges arise each day,
Yet they adapt, yet find their way.
In farms, in cities, in industry, in school,
They honor roots and modern rule.
The saga’s end is not a close,
Life continues, ebbs, and flows.
The Afrikaner soul, both fierce and free,
Will write new chapters in history.
Through faith, through work, through love and song,
Their people carry forward strongly.
And in the veld, the hills, the skies,
The spirit of their past still flies.
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Epilogue: The Endless Journey
From Jan van Riebeeck’s first step ashore,
To modern days and even more,
The Afrikaner journey, long and wide,
Has flowed like rivers, strong in pride.
Through wars, through toil, through fear, and grace,
They carved their home, they claimed their place.
Their story is both old and new,
A people shaped by God and view.
And though the future yet unfolds,
Their saga, proud, forever holds
The fields, the faith, the hearts of men,
Who tilled the earth and built again.
The Afrikaner lives, endures, and sings,
Bound by the past, yet stretching wings.
- Writer
