Hey guys, Steven Oliver here. I would like to share this poem with you, which i wrote and dedicated to the belated Tiger Bayles. His influence went beyond BIMA's walls and I thought it would be only fitting that I write a poem for him as he was always a great supporter of my work.
Ancestral Flame
Black spirit that could not be tamed
Now brighter glows, ancestral flame
So freely soar among our old
While here on earth your deeds are told
The deeds born of caring heart
A heart whose fire is unsurpassed
For love of your people fanned the flame
The righty earned the warrior name
You fought the struggle, there was no choice
And in our loss, we found your voice
And so you spoke, that all may hear
The plight of those you hold so dear
And led you not, yet showed the way
To a time of our ancestral days
Reminding me I must reject
The deeds and words of disrespect
You spoke, I woke, my chains were broke
Your acts of fearlessness invoked
This greater sense of who I am
And made of me a greater man
You gifted all, courageous heart
A light of might through the times of dark
A champions voice to those unheard
Who delivered fools their scorn deserved
And the truth, you are not gone
You’ll live till there are no more dawns
You will not face mortality
Your name etched in black history
A history, that stronger is
For the simple fact that you have lived
And now on history’s corridor
You stand there proud, a warrior
Bet let you rest, your fight is fought
Let is carry on through all you taught
As memories come to firmly hold
The ways of you, the ways of old
And so it is, this sense of pride
A dignity that’s now amplified
A black spirit that cannot be famed
So brightly glow, ancestral flame
Ancestral Flame
By Steven Oliver
Photo Credit: abc.net.au