When Grandpa Finally Retired Poem by Toshie Nohara

After working for half a century
Grandpa had finally retired,
What wonderful news that grandpa's new
life has just begun,
So we grandchildren wanted to have some fun
With the grandpa, we admired.

One day grandpa made some paper balls for us
To play in the house
We jumped, we laughed so much
We were happy all day.

Another day he told us
Heartwarming stories of his working life
In foreign countries
Of how he left his beloved family and grandma
For months to finish his duties.

In Mexico he experienced bad jetlag
After the long flight
He could hardly sleep
Was frustrated throughout the night!

In Cameroon, would you believe
What we were told by grandpa?
Grandpa boasted that he ate porcupine meat
For lunch one afternoon!

In Nigeria while at the seaside
One fine Saturday
He gave some Japanese rice balls
That were wrapped with seaweed
For the little boys to eat
And they peeled off the seaweed!
Quite suspicious, thinking that
The seaweed was black paper!
They were careful when receiving food
From Japanese strangers.

In Borneo, grandpa took rides
In speed-boat to work in the morning
How relieve3d he felt when he returned
Safely to the hotel in the evening.

In London, he met three of our grandaunts
They were studying in London
After office hours he took grandaunts for dinner
How kind of grandpa.

In Thailand he suffered
From food poisoning
Had to be hospitalized
For healing
Poor grandpa.

In Vietnam, he couldn't believe his eyes
Saw Vietnamese women riding scooters in town
One mother with two sons clinging to her
On the scooter, yet nobody fell down!

In Singapore there was a businessman
Who talked endlessly at grandpa's first encounter
Pity grandpa's mission
Was blasted sadly ever after!

In Papua New Guinea, grandpa
was blessed
With satisfaction
He saw birds of paradise up the tall trees
His dream fulfilled
He was pleased with God's marvellous creation.

In Malaysia he loved eating
Tropical fruits
Mangoes, rambutans, mangosteen, and durians
And other ethnic food
Satay, chicken curry and sharksfin soup
He made many friends with the Malaysians.

In Australia, he missed seeing the Great Barrier Reef
Was too busy, always in a hurry
Couldn't go sightseeing
Instead he brought home three kilos of beef!
That's easy to carry? ? !
His souvenir for the family.

In Brazil, he visited T.V. Grobo
In Sao Paulo
Was amazed to find signatures of
The world's famous actors and actresses
Names like Marliyn Manro beautifully
Inscribed on the floor of the buliding.

In Egypt, the Pyramids were the most fantastic of
the Seven Wonders Of the World
That he had ever seen
He stood motionless, awed by what he saw.

Even now he still wonders
How the Pyramids of Egypt were built.