Every July

The Rev. A. S. Akpan
Dad passed away on first of July, 1995,
That's twenty six years too soon.
He taught me to never give up on my talent.

Every  first day of July

A riot of memories flutter to life,

Like a bust of sunshine.

I reminisce of the good old times

You used to spark causal smiles

That rose up to glisten in my eyes.

Too young n' dumb

To foresee the cruel surprise,

That far too soon you'd be gone

And I'll be down to eulogize,

To acknowledge the rule,

'It's appointed once to die,'

Guess I've been schooled.

This first of July

I dare to touch the sky,

To hold your hands in mine

And force estranged hearts to reunite.

Cause every once in a while

Impossible things bend n' slide

So I'm not gon' cry

I'ma take these tears for a ride

And let the love you showed me

Shoot me into that peace

That passes all understanding

And translate my reminisce

So that when I think of you

And the things you used to do,

I find strength to pull through.

Akpan

You Excel Them All

My Momma, Deaconess Eka Akpan celebrates her birthday today. Here's a tribute to her undying grace.
May all your hopes and dreams come true, Mma!

Updated: January 11, 2021 14:30

Charismatic Momma

Your touch is a special brew of eternal

Maternal ingenuity

Your Ibibio cuisine is legendary;

Each ingredient added on whispered prayer.

Many women have done virtuously,

Several mothers performed excellently

But how you came through for me consistently

Attests to your matchless grace,

The radiance you lavish

On all around you invokes seasoned praise.

Your hands have molded my path

Your affection resides within my heart.

The memory of my childhood records it well

The bond between mother and son is a spell.

Ain't it swell

That you have thrived

These three score and ten years plus

And proved that beauty never dies.

Countless women have been champions,

But you're more than a conqueror

That tells why you excel them all.

Akpan

Mma Mi

My Mama, the Deaconess Eka Akpan celebrates one more

year on God's Earth today. Happy Birthday Mma.

"Mma mi" (/hmm ma me/) is Ibibio for My Mama.

Love needed no reason,

To set me up with a special person;

Love’s only reason was love itself,

Mma, having you translates as blessed.

I’m gonna write my manger story on you;

A prose on how faithful love beat the odds.

Wise men found a star on the night of the first Yule,

Mma, you are that ancient star in human form.

You were my anchor when I stormed thro a fog,

Your voice was the oil that stilled my troubled sob,

No room in the inns Mma, your heart was my pod:

A tested refuge from the cattle of this cold sod.

Akpan

Picture of You

To the memory of my father Rev. A. S. Akpan (1940-4eva)

With this life I’m going to paint a picture of you

Cut a canvas out of reality splash on colors so true

Erect a living effigy in my flesh offer up my body

For all time in pursuit of this solitary soulful duty;

I’m gonna walk your walk until I’m eligible to talk

Like you once did during your stay on this mortal ball,

I got a feeling I want to feel it how you took the heat

And polish, refine, weave it into the theme of my masterpiece.

Akpan

No Questions Asked

Happy Birthday to my Mama and a great woman -
Deaconess Eka Akpan

Mma

If that name ain't the sweetest thang like a lump of sugar.

I was going to say you taught me everything I ever knew

But then I reflect on the times you broke me off the horns of a dilemma

And it's like damn near impossible to make who you are more beautiful.

Mma

Your love is like a story that keeps unspooling long after the tome is closed.

My heart explodes with untamed emotion but words fall just shy of expression;

How do I even begin when you are my beginning, I'm lost in your shadow.

My affection knows no bounds; it's as wide as the breadth of the ocean.

Mma

Just the thought of you sets an avalanche in motion,

Your pure devotion takes my breath away, like a blast of golden gas.

If I had to do this over, if I had a choice in my own conception;

Mma, I’ll root for you and I’ll do it in a heartbeat no questions asked.

Akpan

Superhero

Dad passed away on first of July, 1995
He is my very own superhero. This poem is to his memory.

You stirred a flare for reading in me.

I recall crawling into the confines of your private library

Hounded by classics assuming names tricky to remember

Sometimes I call up images of your cloth-bound hardcovers;

‘On Aggression;’ ‘Try Anything Once;’ and ‘The Governor.’

On every first page a date underlined your peculiar signature.

I still picture you waving ‘English Without Tears’ in my view.

It’s hard to visualize I rode your backtrail without meaning to

Most amazing of all is how you honed my obsession for books

Makes me proud I was raised on books by an uneducated you.

I wish I could paint your face on cosmic canvas

Convey to the world your unique colors.

I wish I could spray your qualities over the horizon

In smoke Dad, may I do the sweet honors?

I got this feeling where my heart resides

That when we meet again away from this body

I’d have earned the privilege to look into your eyes

And say simply but firmly, “I am my father’s kid.”

Meanwhile, I hope it would delight you to know

That I have etched your face on everlasting stone.

Akpan

A Toast

I raise a toast to the man who bent the impossible to his own will;

I give a standing ovation to him who threw himself into shaping me;

I declare you a father of fathers and hoist your fame on a plinth;

I raise my glass to all you stood for; ideals taught me from the crib.

Talons of time cannot claw the memory of you off my mind.

And since you did not quit on me I return the favor in kind.

If I live four score and seven years I’ll give each moment in time

To celebrate a gift that was the sum total of divine and sublime.

Akpan

Phenomenal Man

My Father: The Phenomenal Man;
husband, father, uncle, brother, grandfather

I like to think of you as my very own superhero,

As the one who had my back from ground zero.

You had a charm about you it made you a special person;

A quality that set the strobe light on you lost in a crowd.

I’d love to hear the timbre of your voice while I give a listen;

The man I lost dishing the man I am the lowdown.

You commanded respect so crystal folks perceived it.

You were a gift to this world and I only wish they knew it.

I’ve always wondered what it takes

To stamp a foot in the prints you left behind.

It never fails to amaze me how you raised the stakes

When you presented the gift of your champion mind,

You had the inbuilt timing which made your moves flawless.

You knew the right words and the fact made me speechless.

You set a standard from which a young dream was launched.

You didn’t assert perfection but you gave it all your best shot.

Akpan

Sir

Sir (The name I called my father) was translated to glory
on July 1st, 1995. This poem is dedicated to him.

Sir, you…

Never said to stir up trouble;

Never said to walk away from a good fight;

Never said I wouldn’t take a tumble;

Never said change won’t rain in the nighttime.

But above all the things you said

As well as a million others left unsaid

(And it’s the greatest of all thrills),

Is that I’ll never forget how you made me feel.

Never said any worthwhile cause comes easy;

Never said it will be fine if I didn’t give it a try;

Never said to welsh on my dreams;

Never said to take my eyes off the prize.

Never said I’ll be writing this with tearful eyes;

Never said you’d be gone before this sun would rise;

Never said to see you smile again I’d go back in time;

Never said you won’t be there when I… when I…

Akpan

First of July

Rev. Akpan Sam Akpan
My father who I called Sir, passed away on July 1st, 1995.
This verse of poetry is dedicated to his memory.

I’d like to tell you a thing about this man I called ‘father.’

Take a seat, cross your legs yeah, make your burdens lighter.

He moved on 20 0dd years ago but still I found no other;

There’s nobody can claim my father’s place no, not ever.

Let me tell you how he gave my story a new vista.

Walk you step by step thru the genius of a master.

I really wish you met him; you’d have been bettered.

He made me the man I am so I can defeat life’s drama.

He was the kind of man who redefined ‘phenomenal.’

A man who stood by his word thru fire and thunder;

Always made time for me; he was there for my brothers.

He was a kind man who never raised his voice at Mama.

I wish you knew the story of the man I called father.

You’d battle lions wearing smiles as wide as summer.

He was the greatest of them all; a true-born soulja.

In him I found my hero, now, always and forever.

Akpan

Like Mama

Happy Birthday, Mma!

How I love to love

The love that raised a stud.

Mama’s gentle hands gave me a rub

Yeah, her laps were my first tub.

I walked through a valley dug by fear,

Mama was true like a love waiting there,

With arms opened wide she did me bear.

Hushed my sighs and mopped up my baby tear.

Passionate, compassionate, she thrives on it;

My Shelter, my Teacher, my Fair-Weather.

She made me a best-selling story

Ain’t nobody showed me love like mama.

In sickness and in stress mama

Felt my affliction, shared my blues.

Her breasts totally nourished this brother

Ain’t no one could be faithful like mama.

I know the storms still will rant and rave,

Just the thought of her will be my guarantee.

If I can't hold back the rain

Still I'll stand strong just listening to a memory.

Passionate, compassionate, she thrives on it;

My Shelter, my Teacher, my Fair-Weather.

She made me a best-selling story

Ain’t nobody showed me love like mama.

Eneh

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