–A poem by Mpindi Percy Christopher; Student of Law and Human Rights Activist

His was like any other story
Of little-known men that rise from grass to glory
His spirit embraced the call to toil
Like any other son of the soil.

His young feet full of magic
Caressed the Dakar soil
His pilgrim feet full of magic
To Montagris they floated like oil
His feet full of magic
Were stopped in a way so tragic.

From deep catholic roots
Jean-Pierre was smitten by the boots
He gave football his all
At Nice and Paris Saint-Germain
The White Wolf had his reign

Through the rugged racial terrains
And the 1969 bigotry frowns
He met lovely Bernadette
The party, their tryst
She was bewitched by his concrete charms
And before he could depart
To him belonged her heart

His black feet full of magic
Won him Bernadette’s love
His fragile feet full of magic
Were all Adam could have
His promising feet full of magic
At Lyon, they were stopped in a way so tragic.

Who knew Adams would have to pay?
For the sins of a nation?
Why did he have to pay?
When all he wanted was an operation?

The strike of a doctor
Struck deep there and after
An anaesthetic so tragic
Ended the enviable magic
Lyons trick-gone-bad crushed all Adams had.

Lo, the crisis! Lo, the shout!
That summoned Bernadette out
For 39 years she hoped for salvation
To Adams, she poured all her attention.
To her, it wasn’t a matter of debate
That the wolf was simply a beautiful sleeping athlete

A devotion so deep
A lesson we can keep
That in sickness or splendour
True love will never surrender.

And when the slow wheels of death
Finally stole Adam’s breath
His freedom was Bernadette’s prayer.

This poem is based on the true story of Jean Pierre and Bernadette Adams.
Bernadette Adams gave the world an example of dedication and love in her
continuous care for her husband. He spent 39 years in a persistent vegetative
state following an anesthesia accident during an operation on one of his knees in
1981.

Throughout those nearly four decades, he had the unwavering support of his wife,
Bernadette, who remained continuously at his bedside. They were married for 52
years when he died