POEM #1292: What Papa Gave Me

First of July, 1995, Dad went home to be with the Lord. It's been a tough ride down life's track for me but the lessons he taught me got me counting blessings and thanking God every single day, for giving me a good father. Because Dad was a good father. 
Sir (that's what I called my father), this one's for you.

What Papa gave me
Was faith in my personal skills
A consuming appeal for creativity
And an undying zeal for intellectuality
What Papa gave me was
A fistful of valor
Passed down from a Man of Honor
A spirit that never says die
Papa was the dot on my ‘i’
The inspiration for my flight
What Papa gave me was
A heart after God's heart
A soul that bleeds for the world
He was a man of many parts
What Papa gave me was 
A fiery courage to take up
The baton and continue the glorious
Race that he'd begun
What Papa gave me was
A fervent hope that perseveres
And withstands the bitter years
What a glory it sheds on my way
To this very day
What Papa gave me was
Greater than gold and diamond
It's the greatest love of all
What Papa gave me was
God
In live and living color.

Akpan