A Selfless Love – A Tribute To My Dad

 

I was not ready to lose you.

But you were taken from me, anyway.

 

Suddenly.

 

On a sunny day that started so normally.

Without any sign of the emotional pain to come.

 

Abruptly.

 

Life’s like that, I guess.

It shouldn’t be that way.  It just is.

 

Unfair.

 

Losing a loved one is always hard.

Losing a father at a tender age is as hard as it gets.

 

Wrenching.

 

I was more than a boy.

But, not yet a man.

 

Becoming.

 

You were meant to be my guide through that stage of life.

You were supposed to be my mentor as I grew.

 

Transitioning.

 

I had to do a lot of growing up fast in those early years after you passed.

I had to be strong for Mum.

 

Maturing.

 

The sad thing is I have more in common with you now than I had then.

I share your love for photography and classical music.

 

Passions.

 

Oh, the conversations we could have had.

I don’t even know which classical composers you listened to.

 

Wondering.

 

So many things left unsaid.

So much potential.

 

Gone.

 

I would have been a different man if you had stayed.

In ways that I will never know.

 

Unguessable.

 

I’ve been told I look like you.

That gives me much consolation.

 

Comforting.

 

I feel like, in me, there’s a part of you that lives still.

I carry on your name.

 

Heritage.

 

The memories may be dimmer as the years roll by too fast.

But I will never forget the values you taught me.

 

Integrity.

Honesty.

Trust.

Love.

 

Yours was a selfless love.

I never wanted for anything.

 

Cared for.

Loved.

 

One day we WILL have those conversations.

When I get to Heaven.

 

Future.

 

But I hope that day doesn’t come too soon.

Until then, keep watching over me.

 

I hope I make you proud.

Starry Night

There are moments in your life that will live in your heart forever

Moments that will take your breath away

Indelibly etched into your very soul.

And will never be forgotten.

Memorialized.

 

My first such moment was laying on my back at night

Looking up at the night sky in awe.

Taking in the wondrous splendor

Of the heavens above

Mesmerized

 

The band of the Milky Way stretched across the length of the sky

Blazing a trail of light as far as the eye could see

A myriad of stars too numerous to count

Brning into my retinas

Hypnotized

 

Although that night was so long ago I recall it vividly

I can call to mind the awe it filled me with

If I live to be a hundred years old

I will never forget.

Crystalized.

 

To my mind those moments are food to nourish my soul

Such happy memories for when sadness calls

When I need to remind myself

It happened to me

Realized

 

There was no social media to share this wondrous moment with

No cellphone camera to record for future posterity

Only my minds eye to recapture it

And play it back again.

Memorized.

 

For eternity.