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In Memoriam:
William C. Velásquez
"qué bonito es el nuevo mundo"
—Willie Velásquez
(1944 - 1988)
Front Page Headlines in The Express-News. . .
and soundlessly, without warning
the sun implodes in the sky,
leaving us with these blind wells for eyes,
groping afraid in a world of darkness
. ..Jane?...Carmen?. ..Catarina?...Guillermo?
please don't cry. Let us all hold hands and
form the circle unbroken. Deep in our hearts
we shall immortalize him:
-----soft
cloud for a pillow
-----cool breeze overhead
-----rainbow veil of stars
-----for the celestial bed
Let your tears be a warm tide of courage
and together let's carry on. In his name.
Onward, like a banner flying eagle-high.
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II.
... think of him as a man whose
panoramic vision discerned in la gente
the capacity—the need—for plenary
participation in an equable society.
-----"As citizens of this nation,
we have the
-----right, and yes, the responsibility,
to vote.
-----We are the makers of our own history.
-----We must not sell ourselves short!"
... think of his special legacy. I'm sure he never
counted the giving of precious silver minutes,
golden hours, the days, weeks, months, oh! the
heroic years of noble commitment:
the door-to-door campaigns (a muddy
street forlorn, begging for asphalt) ...Knock knock!...
Familia González? Now's your chance to get that
street paved ...su voto es su voz!... and don't
forget to hold them politicians accountable...!
His clear sense of purpose, of justice:
-----"It's not that we should get involved,
-----it's that we have to..."
would summon the strength, long past the
midnight clock, to fit the endless agendas: civil
rights litigations in defense of minorities, voter
education programs: the grass-roots workshops
—the strategies—the "whatever it takes to get
the people registered, and to the polls to vote."
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III.
... and think then of a penitent Aquarian.
The many times I said:
----------William "Willie" Velásquez,
I see the dauntless brio of the pioneer
leader within you
— mover of mountains, activist messiah—
and someday I'm going to write you up
into a poem. Going to paint you with the
deep strokes of your quiet greatness. Going
to color you vanguard of a new breed of
self-determined
----------American Hispanic/Latino/Chicano,
armed with the shibboleths of progress
to ensure the political clout of La Raza. And all
the kiddoes in the barrios everywhere will
think HERO! when they read you. And feel
positive in your image. And be proud.
... but now my poem for you must be
this dirge, this mourning for
a comrade, this requiem
for a young Guevara
-----eulogy incomplete
-----song without melody
-----violin without strings |
IV.
O sweet dove, belated messenger:
Willie now belongs to the ageless
Land of Beyond, and he holds triumphant
the radiant birth of Dawn
in his right hand. Holds victorious
the ultimate secret of life:
-----the light of the beginning
-----the key to eternity
. . . now you must be
an ode to be sung by a host
of guardian angels, celebrating
"the new world" of hope and beauty he
envisioned: a world just and equal
on every mountainside: his dream fulfilled
in the peaceful realm of sleep.
888888888888—Angela de Hoyos ©
888888888888San Antonio, Texas
8888888888885 July 1988
Dedicated to the life and work of William C. Velásquez and to the Southwest
Voter Registration Education
Project, San Antonio, Texas.
(from The Americas Review, Vol.18, No.2, Summer 1990, © The
Americas Review, University of Houston, Houston, TX 77204-2090.)
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