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for Walter 'Duke' Duchinowski
Through twenty-four years of emergencies
of every description,
Duke walked.
Bursting pipes
Broken glass
he walked,
Leaking roofs
Flooded floors
he walked,
Cold boilers
Short circuits
he walked,
through every daily disaster,
and usually twice daily,
he walked,
surveying the situation with
his artist's eye,
dealing with each,
but never hurrying,
as if his entire being was telling us,
"Let's keep our heads about us,
let's stay calm,
deal with things
as best we can,
and get on with it.
This too will pass away,"
and every time he walked
down the halls,
which was often,
he taught his own class,
attended by many,
even while thinking about his family,
or about his birds taking flight,
after so many hours of carving his visions
and patience into wood.
All about him, life accelerated. Lab computers
crunched numbers in nano-seconds.
Students rushed frantically to class.
Lunch periods chaotically came
and chaotically went,
but Duke just walked,
unhurried,
somehow getting it all done,
with kindness and competence,
and a few well chosen words,
understanding
something
deeper than what
most of us taught, and
for twenty-four years walking,
moving slowly like
eternity itself,
being part of this place, and
being our friend.
June 2000