ODE TO MY TWO YEARS FATHER
Within me runs this thought just like an alcoholic possession
How that elderly man marked the land
At the right hand side of our building is made the provision
For the umudiala (ndi nwadiala) to open the sand
Then on nothingness of life I reflected
How that man I so revere as a father
Is now by death and darkness been collected
The sorrow and heartbreak on us bother
That doctrine of hylemorphism now defiled
For him then dwells new era of dichotomized existence of body and soul
A new domicile grave for the body by rot be defiled
Heaven a home of eternity welcomes the soul
Oh 10th March, 2011 away (hospital) you sent him
Oh 29th April, 2011 death you availed us
Oh 16th June, 2011 home you sent the corpse of him
Strife, agony and confusion then the lot of us
Can I also forget standing beside the graveside with the priests?
Hearing the thunder of cry from relatives
On their cry I became deaf in order to pray for the soul and for the crying become a catalyst
Then without knowing that life will still go on I thought I would be a fugitive
So great the solidarity of many friends
To mention names is to forget many
Gratitude I give them for helping me acquire amends
The challenge I took up to become a father to many
Wow, a great lesson I learnt
That ‘ozu onye ozo abughi ukwu nku’
My commiseration to many who are bereaved I sent
To identify with their sorrows and tell them ‘na mmadu abughi nku’
Now my father’s body is two years in the grave
My father’s soul is two years in heaven
The body is meant for a perishable domicile down the grave
The pure soul is destined for an imperishable domicile up the heaven
With great ‘espero’ (hope) I look forward for the time
Then, all deaths will be over (cf Rev 20:6)
Then we shall all be united together in that dome
Where all tears and strife will be over
As a worthy son I contend
The doctrine of communion of the saints I highlight
To offer my Sunday Mass and say the Office for the dead I intend
That day when we shall all meet to part no more I sight.
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