philip gould, professor extraordinaire (october 17, 1922-december 14, 2019)
he left us
like a giant eagle
in the night––
wing tips
touching the limits
of the horizon
freedom
freedom
freedom
the earth is
his mind
the earth is
his forever
he is wherever
he wills
we see him joking
with the guards
of the forbidden city
in perfect mandarin
trying to find
a suitable toilet
in old guatemala
bartering for sling shots
in a ghanaian bazaar
to celebrate
african humanity
there he is
perfecting
marine field intelligence
in the pacific war
now he’s observing
a cockroach scaling
a skyscraper
he reveals to us
the mona lisa
through the eyes
of da vinci
he invites
his students into the
imaginations of frank lloyd
wright & frank gehry
& his family
into the louve
he’s been waiting
to reunite with nadia
& now …
forever is like
that
soon this remarkable
soul will be teaching
the angels
whether he believes it
or not