This poem was orgianlly written and read as tribute to Brother Bob Baxter OFM Conv. at his funeral in 2018. It serves as a reminder of the importance and impact we can have on one another through interfaith relationships and dialogue.
Marilyn Kallet served as Knoxville Poet Laureate, June 2018-June 2020. She has published 18 books, including How Our Bodies Learned and The Love That Moves Me. VCCA honored her at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, as a “Woman Artist of Influence.” She has performed her poems on campuses across the United States as well as in France and Poland, as a guest of the U.S. Embassy’s “America Presents” program. Loftus house at Mount Saint Francis has offered a home to her poems for many years and a picture of Brother Bob today hangs in her kitchen. She still talks to and misses him often.
In loving memory, Brother Bob Baxter
by Marilyn Kallet – Knoxville Poet Laurete 2018-2020
Where are you?
Now it’s me and
The fallen dogwood leaf
I brought from home ground
To focus my mind.
You lifted me up.
No matter that I was Jewish.
We talked Brooklyn, Long Island,
Prayers, mezuzahs,
The hopes of our moms and dads.
You opened door after door
For me, the big ones,
To Loftus House, to
Friendship, acceptance,
Laughter, peace of mind.
Where are you?
This brittle leaf with its two
Tears for eyes
Says you have returned
To dust.
I will go out now and find
Your stone.
Dear Brother,
I am angry, I am sad,
I miss you dearly,
I thank you
Again for all you were,
You gave.
I miss your laughter,
Mount Saint Francis
Is more beautiful
Because of you.
Even the hibiscus
Waving its blossoms
At the living room
Window
Seems to agree.
