For Anil Sook Deo

I Here lies a small brown man, maybe average, with heart, mixed nationalities Sounded and spelled AMERICAN, spoke always of Africa nationalistically Loved words, could not communicate career choices realistically Johns Hopkins Professors joined ones at Indiana University (Go Hoosiers!) mercilessly In noting his non-American marriage would hurt politically 9-11 and all. "Couldn't find a nice American girl?" they asked rhetorically (He adored them) "Love is blind, but after dating her, I did her right," culturally II As he did in 1983 on Fulbright at Ohio University unselfishly Speaking against apartheid horrors (though not black per se) regularly Invited Dennis Brutus to African Students Union (a conference) un-diplomatically Prez Reagan wanted Brutus deported to apartheid South Africa discriminatorily In useless pride, Deo empathized, did not take Reagan's amnesty - foolishly Then too many heroes and sheroes in South Africa, to remember non-ANC fairly Quietly did their patriotic duty to Africa, while students abroad idealistically After Mandela, blackk leaders (Malema) say, "Go back to India!" impractically And whites all over smile: "Told you so!" prophetically And yet, this small. average man did right in his way, and Democratically