My Dad

My Dad

By Frank Bolaji Irawo

Hey Dad, no longer here

Lot of things to say

But no one to hear

All the pain that I felt

Not having you near

To fill the holes in my heart

For a dad that was never there

To see with my own eyes

What it means to be a man

Learning first-hand from him whose stock

From which I am hewn

What it really means

To be just like you

I can only imagine

As it was not often enough

That you were present to point the way

To show me that you cared

For you to be my cheerleader

To urge me on to greater heights

To lift me up when I fell

To convince me that I could do it all

So I longed for you to lead the way

For me to know that whatever I faced

You were there to face it with me

Alas it was not to be

I from afar admired what I could

A man full of fire and energy

Able to do whatever you put your mind to

Powerful and strong, zealous to a fault

Once your interest was peaked

There was nothing you couldn’t make something of

If only you could see the value of what you already had

You may have celebrated us more

Spent more time to nourish and nurture

That which came from your own loins

To invest in and encourage us

To much greater heights than you could

A true legacy worth leaving behind

The journey never seemed to end for you

Until you made your final bid for glory

To fill the void of your own insecurity

That made the final hole for you to step into

To bury that wonderful treasure of potential

Never fully realised

Rest in peace my father

I guess you did the best you could

We acknowledge you as a great teacher

Even if most of the lessons were how not to

We your legacy live on

Generations after generation to write better stories

And acknowledge that life moves on

Love you from beyond the grave

For the gift of the life, you gave

I weep for that which was not fulfilled in you

A gift of validation only you could give

I rejoice in that which was good from you

We lay to rest your memory

As we start chapters anew