Beautiful Rose Poem by Olumide Omoyele

[For Tupac Shakur]

But for the unintended
crack in the concrete
the rose would not have grown.

But for the abundant rain
the beautiful flower would not
have prospered and these wild
seeds of time would not
have been sown.

The heart of a panther
with the piety of a native Indian.
The pride of an ancient African Chief
with the soul of one deeply troubled.

The eloquence of Aristotle
and the clarity of Confucius
balanced wit the rudimentary
but necessary intellectual
militancy of Marx.

Please don't rest in peace
but instead rage on unquenchably
like a naked fire in
the heartz of men.