Key Man - (From Barry Chevannes NINE NIGHT)

when a man like you go out
they call the voices out
smooth them down with flask
and dark spirits surround,
not evil spirits, just black spirits-
those who grew strong from your presence
from our countenance and charge of "up"-
joined together like you were Marcus
and we believe the mantle you put down
is ours and we listen to the drums beat
and we finally get meaning wrapped up with
fingers pushing away the watered memories
listening and ushering you home, and even when
you gone we seem to have a right to belong.

when a man like you go out
we sit still and wait on your return
cause we still convinced is fool you fool
we up and jus a check to see if we di take note
a your presence when you walked the campus grounds
with the ease of a student heavy with the load of lessons
to be taught, thought about with the ease of approvals
but inside we know who wasn't a man of tricks too stern,
too much belief in our path,s the one we don't choose yet,
the one we don't see yet, the one you keep pointing us to.
As the drum play we see it, like a libation of sorts
you "poured your life unto death"

when a man like you gone out
and they- those who will go
nameless since this poem is not about them-
call the voices out they know it will take the Folk
the Revival, the Kumina the Nyabinghi and the Church
to ease you to the ground with the sound of the key man
showing us the way with the libations you used
to show us the way to live, with a smile
and the eloquence of sound pulling people together
like you were Marcus speaking for us.

Comments

  1. SAVED BY GRACEMonday, March 14, 2011 7:46:00 PM

    fitting tribute..thanks for sharing..he was a man of impeccable class and character

    ReplyDelete

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