Fifty Six - A poem to dad
poem by:
B V
Written
on Aug 10, 2018
Herein lies fifty six lines of verse,
One to celebrate each year that you danced here on earth.
A stay that for us all was cut too short,
Your departure so sudden, leaving everyone distraught.
Sa’aidi once said that a man with a good name never dies,
They are forever remember with warmth no matter how time flies;
Those that die are those that never left an impression,
Whereas you left a mark in every room you entered, no question.
Your passing has made it clearer than ever to see,
There will never be anyone quite like you, Aghaji.
A loving dad, husband, brother and son,
A caring boss, a humanist and a confidant to some.
Your life feels incomplete, your story partially written;
Taken from us, by the angel of death you were bitten;
Like an unripened fruit plucked in haste from the tree,
Or a river whose banks dry before they get to the sea.
Before me now lies a bridge which has lost its crossing.
How do I traverse this gap? How can I plug what’s missing?
I was savouring the dusk, and now I’m plunged into darkness,
This novel has lost its main character, the central protagonist.
How could this be the end? How could you be gone?
I was too busy dancing to realise it was your swan song.
How did I miss the signs? How did I get this so wrong?
I just wish that I knew that you didn’t have long.
I would have answered your call the night that you died,
The guilt I carry is intense, it eats me up inside.
Between us there were too many words that went unspoken,
You’ll never get to hear them now, the realisation leaves me broken.
My regrets suffocate me, could your fate have been changed?
Or was your life following a script that was pre-arranged?
Alas, I must accept your final card has been told,
The deck’s all out of hearts, yours had to fold.
The funeral was a sobering blur, but touching too,
I read your life story and finally got to convey that I was proud of you,
My idol, my mentor, my guiding light,
Before my eyes you transformed to ashes, black smoke taking flight.
You see, time has a scale, so your life can be quantified many ways,
Thirty Million Minutes or Twenty Thousand Days,
But the impact your made in so many people's lives,
Is futile to calibrate, impossible to specify.
But Rest assured, your life represents more than a plaque on a bench,
You will never quite realise the impact of the time you spent,
I’m grateful for every moment that we shared together,
And I promise, just like in life, I’ll always keep you close forever
Forever seeking your approval, my drive and ambition was shaped.
Forever in your image, your success I dreamed to emulate.
Now your protection has vanished, from your shadow I must emerge,
Standing on your shoulders, on the quest for eternal knowledge I surge.
The advice you’ve given, I’ve written it all down,
I’ll pass it to your grandson to cherish, it will be his crown.
His name, King of kings, He was your pride and joy,
Your wisdom lives on, from your son to his boy.
It is said life is like a ball of wool, a tangled blend,
At the start there is nothing, and there is nothing at the end.
But the memories and the love we shared will never leave.
Your body may be gone, but thy spirit lives on forever through me