He Has Passed

He has Passed

Tom Brown Jr.

January 29, 1950 – August 16, 2024

 

Today

Today they came with news of death

The message said, “He has passed”

“He has passed”

 

I waited for the grief, but it did not come

For this loss had not come on this day

It had come over the years of the journey.

 

I can only imagine what he perceived in his last moments of breath,

the stars turn red,

and the night turns strangely dark,

the heart once so protected, now open

no longer beating the drumbeat

that so many have followed.

 

On this day, I realize that I have carried the drum for years,

no longer alone

our footsteps, mere impressions in the sand 

walking parallel paths 

his medicine bag left for all

 

On this day, all the stars seem to turn, not red but clear

leaving us all with our own memories

leaving us with our own call

from a man who lived contradiction.