I’d like to share a tribute poem for my Uncle Luther, who passed away last year.  My uncle was a highly intelligent man, non-boastful and unassuming.  I loved talking to him and sought him out to learn everything I could about my culture and family history.  His stories about his personal experiences were fascinating.  He knew so much and without him here – I feel I’m missing a link to understanding my history.

 

Knowledge is Housed Here (For Uncle Luther)

 

 

Knowledge is housed here

Within the heart and mind

Of an honorable soul

You who seek to know yourself

Your people and where you come from

Don’t look past

This figure

 

Knowledge is housed here

Muted beneath brash voices

Hollow and dim

Speaking softly

Making sense of bewildered minds

Do not get pulled away from

This being

 

Knowledge is housed here

Close in proximity

Comforting certitudes

Available at all times

Lean in and learn

Do not withdraw from

This wealth of wisdom

 

Knowledge was housed here

Until he died

Leaving a gap

But leaving a legacy

We will continue to grow

Do not forget his memory

We are enriched

As knowledge was housed here.