Spoken word by the spiritual poet

“Sunrise. Sunset.“
A Spoken Word Tribute to David Antoine Dottin

Before the world knew his name,
before laughter learned the rhythm of his voice,
before a basketball ever kissed his fingertips—the sun rose.

April 12, 1961.
Paris, Kentucky.
A sunrise stretched wide across bluegrass hills and whispered,
“Here comes light. Here comes light.”

David Antoine Dottin—
born with warmth already in his chest,
born with a smile that would later become
a permanent fixture in other people’s storms of the soul.

Every life begins at dawn.
Soft.
Hopeful.
Golden around the edges.

And his morning rays?
They were bright early.

Cambridge streets felt his glow.
At Cambridge Rindge and Latin,
he didn’t just play basketball—he radiated.
Championship banners caught the reflection of his jump shot.
The court became his horizon.
Sweat turned to shimmer.
And when he ran the floor,
it looked like daylight in motion.

They said he shared space with giants—
but make no mistake—he was sunlight in his own right.

That was one sunrise.
One pronounced beam.

Another rose in Atlanta—Clark College.
Education sharpening his light.
Purpose focusing his rays.
December 1983—
Department of Defense.
Then Agriculture.
Interior.
ATF.

From Fort McPherson to Washington, D.C.,
he rose in rooms where decisions mattered.
Chair of the Merit Promotion Board.
Leadership steady as noon.
Fairness like clear skies.
Professionalism that warmed, never scorched.

His coworkers felt it—
that steady glow of a man who didn’t flicker when the winds changed.

But the brightest sun?
It rose when he met Katanya.

Thirty-two years of shared horizon.
Laughter folding into laughter, folding into laughter.
Stories stacking like sunsets they never wanted to end.

That love—that was high noon.
Full.
Brilliant.
Undeniable.

And then—his “bookends.”
His beloved son.
His Princess.

Oh, when he said “Princess,”
the sun leaned in closer.
Because fathers like that?
They don’t just shine.
They beam.

He signed his love the same way every time—
👁️ + ❤️ + U
As if to say:
“I see you.
I love you.
Always.”

That was not just a signature.
That was sunlight in code.

And he wasn’t selfish with his glow.
Neighborhood kids—
not by blood,
but by belonging.

If you could fit in “Big Bertha,” you were family.
That van wasn’t transportation—it was a moving sunrise.
A rolling invitation to safety.
To laughter.
To guidance.
To the beach.
To the court.
To somewhere better than where you started that day.

He adopted hearts without paperwork.
He claimed sons without ceremony.
He spoke life like it was oxygen.

On those summer weekends,
with sand between toes and stories in the air, you could see it—
his sunlight stretching across children who needed it most.

And on the rocks at Colonial Beach—
fishing line in water,
patience in posture—he glowed differently.
Not loud.
Not blazing.
Just warm.

Conversation over catch.
Peace over prize.
Because for him,
the point was never about the fish.
It was about the fellowship.

But every day moves toward evening.
January 12, 2026.
Lexington, Kentucky.

The sun lowered gently.
Not extinguished—just resting beyond the horizon.
Because sunsets are not endings.
They are transitions.
They are proof that even in departure, the sky can still be beautiful.

His sunset was peaceful.
Soft gold fading into promise.

And here’s the thing about a life like his—
when a sun like that sets, it leaves color behind.
In his Princess.
In his son.
In Katanya.
In Karen.
In Kevin.
In Craig.
In nieces and nephews.
In coworkers.
In every kid who ever rode in Big Bertha.
In every player who heard,
“Again. You can do better.”
In every room he warmed with a joke.

Some people burn out.
He did not.
He poured out,

From Kentucky’s morning light to D.C.’s afternoon skyline
back to Kentucky’s evening hush—his arc was complete.

Sunrise.
High noon.
Sunset.

Birth.
Brilliance.
Rest.

And though we sit here with somber souls in his twilight,
squinting through bittersweet tears,
we remember—
The sun does not die.
It simply rises somewhere else.

Thank you, Lord, for allowing us to experience
A Sunrise and Sunset as powerful, beautiful, and memorable
As David Antoine Dottin

👁️ + ❤️ + U David Antoine Dottin
Forever.
Sunrise. Sunset.