Welcome to 'The duPs' - The website of Paul and Margaret du Plessis - Margaret a former Medical Social Worker, Paul a physician.
They served with The Salvation Army in Zambia, the United Kingdom, India, and their homeland of South Africa. They retired to live in Bromley, in southeast London. Margaret passed away in 2019.
Their children, Catherine and Andre, and the wider family have always meant a lot to them. Placing Paul’s poems and other information on a website has been a family request for some years. Grandson, David, took on the project and became the website architect.
Please enjoy reading Paul's poems which reflect something of their life experiences.
Margaret has researched the life of Louisa Mary Tucker, the first wife of pioneer Indian missionary, Frederick Tucker.
Please use the menu on the left and the search function in the top right to navigate through the site.
Here is Paul's most recent poem:
The Rhythm of Faith
- Details
- Written September 2023
Until the foetal heart rate slows into moderato;
From the hopes of childhood to the excitement of youth
As the dance floor reverberates with the drum beat of tango
All tangled and twisted, mixing the daily round
With five-four chaos, at sixes and sevens with doubt,
Until the conductor taps his baton, saying ‘Stop!’
And a bugle sounds reveille, awakening the rebirth of faith
In four-four time, with best foot forward on the march,
Until quick-step slows into the waltz of later life
With the end in sight, getting ready for the farewell symphony
Triggering fibrillation, until it finally stops for ever.
Done and dusted, with the death of faith and hope.
Only love endures - quietly and in another place.
September 2023