Who better to do a tribute to Nelson Mandela than Maya Angelou ? And in true Maya fashion, she does it with a poem. It's not by any means a long poem or book. It can be read in mere minutes because each page contains only a couple of words which are accompanied with photos of Nelson taken throughout his life. Like I said it's a short read, but I found a chill going down my spine while reading many of the pages. Give it a read for yourself. This is also the type of book that I am sure will be given, time and time again, as a gift. Of course Nelson Mandela's life itself, was a gift to us all. ( )

Memorial to Nelson Mandela by America's foremost African-American woman poet. ( )

Tribute to Nelson Mandela by May Angelou is what one would expect from Maya Angelou as it is deep and poignant in its brevity. Include in this work is are pictures of Mandela at various stages of his life. As this is a tribute and not a retelling of his life, the poem touches on the vital points in his life of public service. It has been said that a picture is worth a thousand words maybe this is the reason Ms. Angelou did not feel the need to write a long poem for Mandela.
At this day and this hour, his death is still fresh enough for this poem to have validity and touch the reader deeply but will it have that affect in a few years? Only time will tell but for at least the foreseeable future Mandela will be remembered as all the lovely things highlighted by Maya's poem or should I say by the citizens of the United States poem as commissioned by the Department of State.
My favorite part of this poem is the title, "His Day is Done." If you couple this title with the song title "Well Done," especially if you are familiar with the words in "Well Done" where it says "Well done my good and faithful servant well done." With this combination, Mandela had nothing left to complete as he had done the job he was born to perform and was called home so it is true, "His Day is Done." ( )

bookshelves: winter-20132014, published-2014, biography, epitaph
Recommended for: everyone
Read on January 12, 2014

His Day is Done

sniffable tribute to a great man ( )