the toucan sat on his perch at the zoo
dark round berries in a pan at his feet
he took each one in the tip of his bill
and threw his head back
and most of the berries were lost to the ground
I watched him about half an hour or so
he tilted his head at each berry that fell
picked up some more and lost most of them too
and after Muhammad Ali passed away
I thought of that bird and his pan and his perch
I did not understand until after he died
how brave Ali was
or how much it cost a black man in that time
to stand up and say to the powers that be
I can’t fight for a country that won’t fight for me
he was a face I saw on TV
a toucan that smiled on a cereal box
but time has a way of tilting your head
and making you see things all over again
and I see a man now who was pretty and proud
who moved when he fought
like James Brown when he danced
a man who would boast
I can make medicine sick I’m so mean
and when all of the berries were lost to the ground
would still tilt his head
and go back in the ring.