23rd Olympic games
opening ceremonies July 19, 1996

for Muhammad Ali

yes we can see,
by the stadium's artificial light,
the Greatest of all time,
the butterfly that stung the bee;
who danced and jabbed and hooked,
taunting bullish men on canvas squares;
who won a gold medal decades
earlier, in a different land, under a different name;
who changed his name and religion in
conscientious objection to the war
he was drafted to fight for;
who is known and loved by the
world for his rhymes, his shuffle steps,
his rope-a-dope and charisma.

yes we can see,
under the flashbulb-spangled night,
the Greatest of all time,
as he lifts a flame as heavy as the sun
over his head, his left arm fisted, hooking
the thick air, reminding us of his greatness,
as it shadow-boxes the disease in his brain.

–published in Newsletter Inago