Mr. Chairman Takes His Leave

^{As to me, I know of nothing else but miracles.
—Walt Whitman} 

 ^{en memoria William Rashall Sinkin, 1913–2014} 
 

Whitman, you once told me, is democracy on the page, messy 
and imperfect as we are in real life, which gave you hope 

that we would one day make real life true democracy, ripe blossom,
pollen dusting every moment and person, each scampering mote of light. 

This is why as you lay dying, I read “I Hear America Singing”
and knew you heard every word and could feel my hand on yours 

though you were already moving toward other miracles than this life.
A sunflower followed your motion and a yellow dog stood guard. 

You, who lived the notion that the sun belongs to each and every one,
beggars, dreamers, kings, all. You who believed banks could have hearts, 

for god’s sake! You have left it to us, messy and imperfect
as we are and will be, to keep to the work side by side 

and as long as it takes, all the while singing of miracles
just as Whitman and you taught us to do. Meanwhile, you 

were last seen wearing blue-plaid pajamas, a contrasting
blue-plaid bow tie, and surrounded by hummingbirds. 

Hummingbirds leave Texas in early February, migrating north
to make new lives. The angle of the sun tells them precisely when 

to take their leave. They arrive thousands of miles away
in mid-May, about the time of your birthday. A sunflower 

follows your motion. The yellow dog stands guard.

Copyright © 2022 by Rosemary Catacalos. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on April 13, 2022, by the Academy of American Poets.

Subscribe to the Poem-a-Day Podcast 

  

“This poem is a tribute to my former father-in-law, Bill Sinkin, who was a centenarian community leader, progressive entrepreneur, and environmental activist in San Antonio, Texas. (The family called him Mr. Chairman.) The poem is not an elegy because it is not largely mournful. On the contrary, it lauds Bill’s life and work, holding out the greatest hopes for how they might continue. It is a joyful song, celebrating how Bill’s energies remain among us, and also move with him to a new realm.”
—Rosemary Catacalos