January 28, 1970 – March 31, 1997
"Thabo Khali Khali"
PCV Lesotho 1995-1997
Seeds
I used to fear the wind
for I knew my soul to be
a dandelion
which Tsunami Time
could
separate
and
scatter
in an instant
but now, alone, as daylight dies
engulfed by growing green
I see the wind
I hear the wind
I feel the wind
approaching;
I welcome it.
I am become dispersed
transformed,
each section of my soul
each moment, each memory
is a seed
which might fly through the air
and tumble on the ground
then try to lay down roots
to someday bloom
and face the summer sun
perhaps my souls
can find more peace
apart
than they ever could together when crowded within me.
~Jeremy Rolfs, 1994
Thabo Khali Khali
“Thabo khali khali”
the village children
named you, meaning
“airplane of happiness”
when they saw you leaping
and playing and running
in the grassy fields and hills,
the comical pointy straw hat
bouncing on your back,
your thick wavy hair
falling forward, the gift
of your new native blanket
pinned round your shoulders,
your long arms wildly waving,
the blanket flapping like wings.
The older girls, shy, stood
giggling near the house,
the younger children all
shouting and pointing,
irrepressible laughter bursting
from great toothy grins
in wide-eyed dark faces,
running around
and up and down with you
in joyous exuberant circles
calling out
your new name.
I can picture it perfectly.
Oh let this image
stay with me, help me
remember you like this
when the world goes black
and I sink into bitterness
and rage thinking of all
the laughter, the joy,
the fun, the friendships,
the fulfillment of completed work,
the pleasures of the body,
the children you didn’t get to have,
the growing and loving
you didn’t get to know.
Then let this be enough:
A child’s voice, laughing,
Calling out of the darkness to me
Look! Thabo Khali Khali!
~Alma Rolfs
One of Jeremy's teachers began the Jeremy Rolfs Memorial Scholarship Fund at Middle Tennessee State University.
To contribute, contact:
PO Box 109
Murfreesboro, Tennessee, 37132