Ode to touch
by Ayodele James Akinola
You really touched me
Oh! You truly touched me
By your words and acts
And your kind hearted hearts
From home and across the seas
My soul is glad as it sees
And witnesses how beautiful
The world so plenty and full
With handsomely beautiful creatures
From diverse worldviews and cultures
United at the altar of love
Of Digital Humanities’ alcove
And at Noordwijk beachsides
Same as the love which never hides
Openly embracing from motherland
Felt close enough even in the Dutchland
All these I feel and feel and know
And never will forget never nor now
That humanity lives truly, everywhere
Here, found I it, and so everywhere
Oh! What a world so beautiful!
Blessed with many yet so peaceful
A people that know how to touch
With knowledge, that can vouch
That a life was truly touched
Yesterday
And Today,
And the morrow
Of the next morrow
(July 4, 2019, Lorentz Center, Leiden University, The Netherlands)