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

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