Bob Moses 1935-2021

Bob Moses 1932-2021

©2021 by Alice Walker

Painting credit: Tiffany Hamelin Cabrera of
PeaceOfMyArt Studio

Dear Bob Moses,
Before I went
to Mississippi
I had heard
You were there
But soon you left.
Your name was Moses
And the people became
Too used to following you.
You were wise enough
Not to want to be followed;
But to want the people
To create their own path
By walking it.
Leading ourselves
As you knew
Is the only way
For us
To finally get somewhere.
But oh. Bob Moses.
What teachings you were kind
Enough
And stubborn enough
To leave behind,
And so I learned to
Share
What I learned from you:
Forget martyrdom,
Leave the fray before
The people begin
To argue over you.
The world is filled
With many vineyards
In which to labor.
Look deeply in the valley
In which your talent and spirit
Have found rest
And energy.
Flow with that as your offering.
Oh our Moses
How you taught us
A freedom of being
Far beyond
The chaos and sadness
Of Mississippi.
You blessed us by being
Without category.
By being yourself.
The eternal mystery
That all true pioneers
Of spirit
Endlessly are.

Rest in our gratitude.

Alice