a brilliant mind, a committed heart

a brilliant(ˈbrilyənt) mind, a committed(kəˈmit) heart

Jamie(ā) Hysjulien(hī)

I sat(sat) in on a senior(ˈsēnyər) seminar(ˈseməˌnär) one time,
a brief(brēf) period(ˈpirēəd) of asking questions of the student
who was venturing(ˈvenCHər) a take on truth,
based on what they’d been studying
and what the student ventured as thesis(ˈTHēsis),

Jamie revealed(rəˈvēl) himself then:
a brilliant mind, a committed heart,
a devoted(dəˈvōdəd) teacher who joyed in the student’s
brilliant mind, committed heart, devotion(dəˈvōSH(ə)n) to truth,

as I sit outside now, it’s a perfect(ˈpərfikt) day
of deep blue sky, of brilliant late afternoon light
reveling(ˈrevəl) in the revealing of the oak(ōk) tree above,
just coming fully into its power,
like the student in the senior seminar,

how strange it feels to have the world around me
not reeling(rēl) from the loss(läs,lôs) of such a fine man:
a devoted partner, a devoted parent,
a doting(ˈdōdiNG) grandparent,
a colleague(ˈkälˌēg) who lifted(lift) more than his share
of students toward the light,

I imagine kid after kid becoming adult(əˈdəlt,ˈadˌəlt) after adult,
each coming more fully into the power within them
that Jamie helped refine(rəˈfīn) and release(rəˈlēs)
into a world that needs brilliant minds and committed hearts,
who know how to become and be,
in no small part because Jamie
saw them, loved them, helped them,

may each honor(ˈänər) Jamie with how well each
sees the world, sees themselves within that world,
and finds the ways to make a difference, for the better.

By Henry H. Walker

https://henryspoetry.blogspot.com/2019/04/a-brilliant-mind-committed-heart.html