Tribute to Basdeo Panday

Maybe it is because you lived with the pulse of a tiger.

Maybe it is because you possessed the heart of a lion.

Or maybe quite simply,

you were endowed with a soul of collective pride.

The debate will continue as to what worked the trick,

like a magic stick in our body politic. I think it was your wit.

But perhaps it is because you had the courage

to initiate that which was bold,

and that which did not imitate the accepted mould.

It is also likely that it was your way of departing from the norm,

as in constructively insisting on constitutional reform.

Some say it was the idiom,

that “politics had a morality of its own,”

a statement that shall never be outgrown,

remaining consummately applicable to all who aspire for the throne.

Now that you stand beyond the open door

that separates land, sea and sky,

we question, what may ahead lie.

A piece of the shore,

or perhaps more?

Must be peace

I am sure.

And now that you have parted through murky clouds

in search of the radiant blue skies

your sunshiny day

I dare say,

stands to rise, as the sun

just along the way.

Rest in peace comrade Basdeo Panday.

ASHVANI MAHABIR

Cunupia