Nelson Mandela, R.I.P,
Extraordinary product of your country.
From prisoner to president, via statesman and saint,
You learned from experience to use constraint.
That understanding and reconciliation,
Compromise, communication,
Were the only ways to heal your nation.
Your long walk to freedom was a walk well taken,
To show your peers that they were mistaken,
If they thought revenge was the dish best served,
Peace was what your land deserved.
Your own words will your fame ensure,
Your truth and wisdom will endure.
Nelson Mandela, R.I.P.,
Your name will be hallowed through history,
The greatest leader known this century.

“Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.”

“For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”

“I learned that courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”

“I was a terrorist yesterday but today I am admired by the very people who called me one.”

“If you want to make peace with your enemy, you need to work with your enemy, then he becomes your partner.”