Gus Silber’s Carols By Nkandlalight

As the jokes continue to flow about Eskom, “load shedding” (a.k.a. power outages), and South African President Jacob Zuma’s reluctance to pay back any of the millions in tax payer’s money that was used to renovate his private Nkandla residence, brilliant South African writer Gus Silber has penned a new version of ‘The Night Before Christmas’ that combines the lot…

‘Twas the night before Christmas
And all through Nkandla
The lights were ablaze
To the sound of “Amandla!”

While the rest of the nation
Was shedding its load
The power was strong
In this humble abode

Whose brilliant gleam
Could be viewed from in space
By a man in a sleigh
With a grin on his face

As he drove through the stars
In his dazzling red suit
He said “I’m coming to get you
To pay back the loot”

But the head of the house told him
Don’t be a fool
I spent it on building
This flaming big pool

So come sit beside me
And let’s get all boozy
In the Peace and Goodwill
Of my fire jacuzzi

I’ll raise up my glass
And say, “Ja, Noël Fine”
But I won’t pay the money
And I’ll never resign

But look to the lights
That shine over yonder
And let’s bring a halt to the
Blitzen and Donder

For now is the time to
Cease all your fighting
And shuttup complaining
That you haven’t got lighting

Joy to the world
Let the Angels sing Hark!
Enjoy your cold turkey
That you eat in the dark

Forget all the chaos
Ignore all the scandals
Let’s gather as one
By the light of our candles

And dwell on the things
That deserve celebration
As we dream of a brighter
More powerful nation

More Info

Gus Silber is a fantastic South African journalist, author, scriptwriter, speechwriter and tweetwriter. He “plays with words and sometimes works with them too”.

Carol by Nkandlalight is published on SAPeople with Gus Silber’s kind permission. You can view Gus Silber’s original poem here.

Read more of Gus Silber’s posts here: Gussilber’s Twitter Overflow Blog