The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

In Fire Forged and Purified

[Desmond Mpilo Tutu,

October 7, 1931 to

December 26, 2021]

part of me awhile

he has been a part of me

for quite a while

South Africa’s contributions

to all the world

the troubles there, the conflicts

tensions between

black South Africans and white

and what that mix

of energies produced

South African dynamic,

the persons, the personalities

this volatility threw up

like a volcano, belching up,

along with lava, precious stones

no less than miracles,

two men of peace

ascended the stage

the world has not been

the same since

Mandela gone,

eight years ago, at 95

today, Desmond Tutu,

at 90, gone also

I recall standing at the entrance

of Desmond Tutu’s house,

in Soweto, in early March, 2016

minutes away, on foot,

house of Mandela that

is now – that was then a museum

Desmond Tutu,

Anglican Archbishop,

what a life he’s lived

what impact he’s had

upon all the world and all of us

OBEDIAH SMITH

Nassau,

December 27, 2021.