By Niyi Osundare
(To Kim Soo-Woo, for putting Humanity first; and in memory of Busan, October 11, 2019)
What met me at the door
Was the open smile of books
Big, small, round, flat
Spectacular in their rainbow order
Next came the aroma
0f coffee on the brew
Sundry snacks, and tea
Gallantly green in their bags
Then, the magic melody of human voices
Warm, witty, and lyrical with laughter . . . .
In Kim Soo-Woo’s temple of songs and ideas
A literate fire dances beneath the kettle
Books read the people who read them
Fishes swim in friendly waters
When Humanity raises a song
The Universe joins in happy chorus
TO THE AIR HOSTESSES, KOREA AIR*
A thousand blessings
To this band of tireless Angels
Who make our care their own
Thirty thousand feet above the ground
They offer us the sky
As they smile above the clouds
* On board, Seoul- Los Angeles
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