A Purposeful Life

So much good news would have gone unreported
Or at the very least it’d have been distorted
But not in Madison we can thankfully say
Due to the vision of our very own Mi-le-le

She came to Madison very unassuming
Who knew for us what in the future was looming
No nonsense, was her calling card
If you weren’t up to snuff she’d come down hard

Words and the pen were her chosen sword
She defied odds and joined the School Board
As her brand and influence gained more traction
She was recruited by the city for Affirmative Action

And somewhere in the midst of this soaring transition
She changed her name – without permission!
She became Milele Chikasa Anana
Demanding change today, and not manana

Injustice and prejudice rightfully pained her
But she channeled it constructively and created the Black Chamber
Equity in economics she would relentlessly seek
It prompted her to launch Black Restaurant Week

Creating UMOJA was her most indelible act
It showered positivity onto our village, and that’s a fact
UMOJA in Swahili means unity
It’s her treasured legacy to this community

She was the village jewel, sparkling and rare
Our rock and our sentinel, we unanimously declare
Though no longer in our midst her light will shine the way
As we emulate her purposeful life each and every day

Milele’s life was a gift to us all
Her words and her deeds were a clarion call
To see good and promise in all you find,
For we should lift up and celebrate humankind