Grandpa Poem by Alex Francis Komban

From as far as the days that I can think back
I remember seeing my grandpa, my godfather
Watching me all the time, loving me the most,
Holding me lest I would fall down

He took me out, showed me the world as it is
Taught me silently, the virtues of humility,
Importance of perseverance, the power of silence,
And gifts discipline, determination, righteousness yield

The time finally came for me to leave him
Pushed into the world he had once shown me
Armed with nothing, but whatever he taught me
Conquered it, and came back to meet him

His frame had turned week and feeble
And the booming voice turned soft
The very hand of aging tightening its grip
Like an everlasting curse following us all

I wondered with awe and respect, how he guided me,
His foresight, and the gentle but firm hand,
With which he transformed me effortlessly,
From a boy of nothing to a person with something

To age is a terrible fate we all have to face
Its turns us back to the children we once were
I had to hold him lest he would fall
And show him the world it had become

It is a gift to age gracefully
A privilege to die peacefully
And what we were, is defined, by what and
How people talked about us, after we passed

As I looked at his name etched on the stone
And the roses at his feet, fresh but not for so long,
I felt the vacuum in my soul his loss engraved,
But I will never forget this man to my grave