Date Published: 22nd December 2022

 “Do not be discouraged, this world
 Is just as beautiful, just as good
 As it was before those who would make it otherwise
 Began their work; at the end of the day,
 Dear friends, love and the peace that goes with love,
 Will, triumph over those other things.
 That make most of us so very sad.”

Precious Ramotswe and Grace Makutsi send a simple message of home this Christmas time. Watch Alexander read his new Christmas poem, ‘In Spite of Everything’, below.

 Not the best of years, I suppose,
 At least when compared with others, 
 Before these years of unforeseen separation 
 That we’ve all experienced;
 This year we have been sent by express post
 An unambiguous message about not being
 Too sure about anything; I still find it hard 
 To credit that humanity is still engaged.
 In its old search for fresh ways
 Of being unpleasant to itself;
 Here and there over our fragile planet
 Clouds of smoke rise up over battlegrounds
 Where atavistic violence has broken out,
 Where people try to wrest from others
 The things or places that are their own;
 Talking to one another with civility,
 And sharing what needs to be shared,
 Seem old-fashioned practices these days,
 Remembered with fondness, as we recall
 A golden age we thought we had.
  
 And yet, in spite of everything,
 Yes, in spite of everything, there are still
 Those who make life better for others;
 Some are real, and we see their works.
 In acts of kindness and concern all about us;
 Others are the inhabitants of a fictional world,
 Not exactly real, but still there, discernible enough,
 Ready to talk to us, to share their thoughts,
 To go over the events of the day, in friendship.
      One such is Precious Ramotswe,
 Who says to us now, in this difficult time,
 “Do not be discouraged, this world
 Is just as beautiful, just as good
 As it was before those who would make it otherwise
 Began their work; at the end of the day,
 Dear friends, love and the peace that goes with love,
 Will, triumph over those other things.
 That make most of us so very sad.”
  
 “How do I know that? she says. She goes on to say
 “I know that because it is well-known, 
 And what is well-known has always been so.”
 From her office, all those miles away,
 Across the wide seas that lie between us,
 She sends that simple message,
 A green sprig of growth, of hope,
 That comes with her blessings
 For this special time of year
 And for the months that lie ahead.
 And at her side, her friend and colleague,
 Grace Makutsi, nods and says, “I agree with that.
 You will be all right, we shall make it through.
 Do not be sad about the world.” She adds.
 “We are still here and can be glad of that.
 We have our friends, our family,
 And do we need more? I think we don’t.”
 And with that, the two ladies pour out their tea,
 A benison, a comfort in this world,
 And raise their cups to us, and to others everywhere.