From ancient tales of mythical heroes to modern-day stories of bravery and sacrifice, the idea of heroism continues to captivate the human imagination.

It is through acts of heroism that we witness the best of human potential and aspirations, as individuals rise above their limitations and selflessly embrace a higher purpose. That is what President Kagame and his fellow liberators demonstrated when they took up arms against a brutal state machinery to challenge a dictatorship and later put their lives on the line to stop the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi.

Through his readiness to sacrifice his own life to liberate yours, he reminds us of the importance of courage, selflessness, and determination in facing the challenges of life. Indeed, his example teaches us that heroism embodies the very best of our essence as people and lights the path to greatness for every one of us, if only we give it a shot, like he did.

The following poem is one in a cluster of poems penned to celebrate and capture the echoes, and lessons drawn, from the brilliance of a man who has faced extra-ordinary adversity and triumphed over a milliard of constraints to squeeze possibilities out of improbabilities.

Tribute to PK’s leadership

Whispers.

Pleasant

Whispers

Float on air

Like a scintillating

Scent of a Rose Perfume,

Rocking me awake

And gently whipping up

A compelling image

Of a living reality

That dwarfs

Old tales of faces

Firmly chiselled in rock;

Immortalizing heroes

Of other lands

In other times.....

For now

Is our time.

Yes, his face

Is Indellibly curved

Not on a mountain side,

But inside

Our hearts;

His every step

To move us forward;

His every act,

To serve;

His every word

To re-assure:

Like the true

Descendant

And inheritor

Of a silent;

But enduring legacy:

Of African Courage

And instructive tutelage;

Of African honesty

And humility;

Of African passion

And Compassion;

Of African resilience

And grit.

It didn’t start

With Rudahigwa

Nor did it end

With Mandela;

For he carries the torch

And the continent sees

The dark clouds

Over its dignity

Slowly dissipate

As a Gem

Is revealed.

Like man’s perennial

Quest for understanding,

He dominates

My every thought;

Flashes of flight

Keep me awake

Not to miss his light

And like a blind hunter

Become a wanderer

In the tropical forest

Of my delayed twilight.

Whispers whirl into

My midnight dreams:

Gentle whispers

From the deserts

To the North;

Urgent whispers

From the ancient Jungles

Of the West;

Silent whispers

From the grass plains

Of the East;

And ever gentler whispers

From the roaring rivers

Of the South:

Whispers of my kindred

Who, too, share their truth

And affirm their faith

In a new, ennobling

African Reality.

And like a muted symphony,

Whispers still filter

Through from the tenants

Of our meandering valleys,

Scaling up the contours

Of my mind

Like wind blowing

Up the terraces

Of the thousand Hills

Framing this ancient land;

And all I hear is an echo

Of whispers

Of a man

With a heart

Of a lion

Who put all on the line

To stop a pogrom

And string together

A shattered land

Into a marvel

Of unity

In spite of past fires

Of hate;

Yes, string together

An impoverished land

Into a marvel

Of rising prosperity

In spite of past

Shrouds of poverty.

Yes, soft whispers

Of a man who still stands

As a vanguard

Against indignities

Of his kindred

By alien hands

Twisted by greed

Disguised as compassion.

The whispers

From other lands

Affirming this reality

Stridently rise:

Theeee Geeeeem

INTORE

IZIRUSHA

INTAMBWE

Is Reveaaaaaaled!!

AND I BELIEVE!!

The author is former Ambassador of Rwanda to Turkey