Imms
The honest man, Immanuel
Is dead
Spare message all we have
We foreign friends far flung
No photograph, no funeral
No family to console
But yet for all our distance
How terribly we grieve
The gentle giant we loved
For us the quiet centre
Heart of all our work
Ever there to listen then advise
Optimist and fixer
'Yes sure, why not?' he' d say
Where we saw stress and problems
Conflicts and dismay
He'd find a careful path
Possibilities, a way
His daily life was spartan
His needs were soon supplied
How sad, unjust, he faced so many foes
Who failed to value what he did
But seeking first their own advancement
Quite overlooked his goodness
His big heart
And trampled on his dreams
Always a tightrope, diplomatic
To be walked
Merely to survive
I close my eyes and hear him laugh
Bright joy is in his eyes
And now forever in our hearts, held dear
Our much beloved friend
Our 'Imms'
David Immanuel
The honest man, Immanuel
Is dead
Spare message all we have
We foreign friends far flung
No photograph, no funeral
No family to console
But yet for all our distance
How terribly we grieve
The gentle giant we loved
For us the quiet centre
Heart of all our work
Ever there to listen then advise
Optimist and fixer
'Yes sure, why not?' he' d say
Where we saw stress and problems
Conflicts and dismay
He'd find a careful path
Possibilities, a way
His daily life was spartan
His needs were soon supplied
How sad, unjust, he faced so many foes
Who failed to value what he did
But seeking first their own advancement
Quite overlooked his goodness
His big heart
And trampled on his dreams
Always a tightrope, diplomatic
To be walked
Merely to survive
I close my eyes and hear him laugh
Bright joy is in his eyes
And now forever in our hearts, held dear
Our much beloved friend
Our 'Imms'
David Immanuel
September 20th 2010, en route to England, for those of us who loved him
From Jane Hobdell, one of those many who loved him:
ReplyDeleteGood Morning Sally,
Just a note to say how much I appreciated your poem. Wendy forwarded it to me and I read it just prior to speaking to Jambo.
Needless to say I was hardly able to be coherent with him through the tears.
Your words captured my sentiments absolutely.
How long will it be before I can raise him in my thoughts without tears pricking at the back of my eyes?
Never to hear his deep smiling 'Hello' again!!
C'est la vie!
Love and Hugs
Jane
Jane mentions hearing his voice saying 'Hello'- on the phone mainly I think. Pam Morris said she thinks of his 'Welcome, welcome' as we stood in the doorway of his room. Cannot bear to think of that not happening ever again. Us all arrayed before him on wooden chairs, him smiling broadly- the whitest white teeth in his dark face. Then he would lean back into the window and call one of the gofers Anandan, or Ambaragan, to rustle us up some coffee 'sacre ille- no sugar'. What an insurmountable loss.