“Thabo Khali Khali”
January 28, 1970 – March 21, 1997
PCV Lesotho 1995-1997
Seeds
I used to fear the wind
for I knew my soul to be
a dandelion
which Tsunami Time
could
separate
and
scatter
in an instant
but now, alone, as daylight dies
engulfed by growing green
I see the wind
I hear the wind
I feel the wind
approaching;
I welcome it.
I am become dispersed
transformed,
each section of my soul
each moment, each memory
is a seed
which might fly through the air
and tumble on the ground
then try to lay down roots
to someday bloom
and face the summer sun
perhaps my souls
can find more peace
apart
than they ever could together when crowded within me.
~Jeremy Rolfs, 1994
Thabo Khali Khali
“Thabo khali khali”
the village children
named you, meaning
“airplane of happiness”
when they saw you leaping
and playing and running
in the grassy fields and hills,
the comical pointy straw hat
bouncing on your back,
your thick wavy hair
falling forward, the gift
of your new native blanket
pinned round your shoulders,
your long arms wildly waving,
the blanket flapping like wings.
The older girls, shy, stood
giggling near the house,
the younger children all
shouting and pointing,
irrepressible laughter bursting
from great toothy grins
in wide-eyed dark faces,
running around
and up and down with you
in joyous exuberant circles
calling out
your new name.
I can picture it perfectly.
Oh let this image
stay with me, help me
remember you like this
when the world goes black
and I sink into bitterness
and rage thinking of all
the laughter, the joy,
the fun, the friendships,
the fulfillment of completed work,
the pleasures of the body,
the children you didn’t get to have,
the growing and loving
you didn’t get to know.
Then let this be enough:
A child’s voice, laughing,
Calling out of the darkness to me
Look! Thabo Khali Khali!
~Alma Rolfs
One of Jeremy’s teachers began the Jeremy Rolfs Memorial Scholarship Fund at Middle Tennessee State University.
To contribute, contact:
PO Box 109
Murfreesboro, Tennessee, 37132
Hi,
I found this page a few years back, when I was a freshman in college and interested in the Peace Corp. Since then, I’ve found myself wandering back to Jeremy’s page every year or so. I find Alma Rolfs’ poems to be beautiful and have read them over and over again. Despite not knowing Jeremy, I’m touched by all the poem and stories I’ve read. He seemed to be a beautiful soul, and everyone who met him was lucky to have had him in his life.
Wishing you all the best,
Fiona
Dear Jeremy,
I just can’t seem to get you off my mind. For some reason I’ve been thinking about you and Heather more and more. I’m remembering how precious the two of you were together. How I never imagined my co-worker from the radio station we worked at would fall in love with the geeky guy from the television station I worked at.
How sweetly I remember her coming up to me and asked me to introduce her to you. I remember that conversation in the hallway outside Studio B in the LRC at MTSU. Jeremy, this is Heather. Heather, this is Jeremy. She has a little crush on you.
From that moment, y’all were inseparable. Who knew where that introduction would lead? Just a few short years later, you were engaged and we were planning a wedding. We were all so happy.
No one knows when our time will come to say goodbye to this life. No one can say why God works the way He does. All we can do is live life like it’s the 2-minute warning and love FIERCELY!
I’m so honored to have been a part of your life, my friend. I’m missing you both more and more. I remember you and I love you. Always.
Thanks for being my friend.
Hi Teressia. This is Angie, Jeremy’s sister. I loved reading your words about both Jeremy and Heather. Thank you so much for keeping them in your heart. Much love.