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A true Legend.

In reply to nitro

Indeed Sir. A true giant.

In reply to NYCGURU

Indeed.

I read this Maya Angelou poem at my mother's funeral in February


When Great Trees Fall


by Maya Angelou




When great trees fall,

rocks on distant hills shudder,

lions hunker down

in tall grasses,

and even elephants

lumber after safety.



When great trees fall

in forests,

small things recoil into silence,

their senses

eroded beyond fear.



When great souls die,

the air around us becomes

light, rare, sterile.

We breathe, briefly.
Our eyes, briefly,

see with

a hurtful clarity.

Our memory, suddenly sharpened,

examines,

gnaws on kind words

unsaid,

promised walks

never taken.


Great souls die and

our reality, bound to

them, takes leave of us.

Our souls,

dependent upon their

nurture,

now shrink, wizened.

Our minds, formed

and informed by their

radiance,
fall away.

We are not so much maddened

as reduced to the unutterable ignorance
of
dark, cold

caves.



And when great souls die,

after a period peace blooms,

slowly and always

irregularly. Spaces fill

with a kind of

soothing electric vibration.

Our senses, restored, never

to be the same, whisper to us.

They existed. They existed.

We can be. Be and be

better. For they existed.

― Maya Angelou

In reply to Dukes

Great poem. Thanks for sharing.

In reply to nitro

Yuh mean earth day

In reply to Dukes

Great poem.

In reply to Chrissy

Yes Prof.

In reply to Dukes

Wonderful... I need to pass this on

In reply to Dukes

Much thanks for sharing. My Son was shot on the streets in Brooklyn last night. Thank God he is alive after the surgery.A reminder to appreciate life, it is so very fragile.

In reply to NYCGURU

Sorry to hear man. Wish him a speedy recovery.

In reply to nitro

Thanks much. I know Dukes and was not aware his Mom had passed. I will give him a call today.