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Poet Finds Wisdom In Obama's Words

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By LAURA KINSLER

lkinsler@tampatrib.com

Published: January 21, 2009

ST. LEO - When he sat down with a pen and paper and tried to reflect on the legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. with an eye to the future presidency of Barack Obama, Tampa Poet Laureate James Tokley didn't know what he would say.

He took comfort in the fact that he wasn't the only wordsmith to suffer writer's block.

"Even the immortal Martin Luther King had moments on the pulpit when he didn't know what he would say," he told an assembly at Saint Leo University for Monday's MLK observance.

What came out was a three-part poem titled "Evolution." He declares that after centuries of inequality, "God got tired of waiting."

He compares Obama's rapid rise in politics to a tidal wave. No doubt the millions who descended on Washington, D.C., for Tuesday's inauguration feel the same sense of awe.

Tokley debuted his poem "T'is Now, the Coming Age" at the small, private college. He submitted the work for consideration by the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, but Yale poet Elizabeth Alexander was selected.

"It doesn't matter if you win, as long as you're in the game," Tokley said.

In the poem, Tokley speaks to the millions who traveled from across the country to witness the inauguration.

In unison, we welcome you, who've not come here,

Before,

To tell you that upon this day, we do not study war!

For, this day is a sacred day that stretches West and East

And all who chance to come this way are welcomed here,

In peace!

Tokley said he found his voice after reading Obama's "The Audacity of Hope." He touched on themes of diversity, commitment to science, and equality and charity.

Once he wrote the first line, the rest of the words flowed like "a string around my finger," he said. He also read the poem Tuesday morning at the Tampa Theatre before the inauguration.

"I have listened assiduously to comments Barack Obama has made. I felt like I hit the target."

Reporter Laura Kinsler can be reached at (813) 779-4617. Keyword: Tokley, to read Tokley's poem about the inauguration

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