His Departure

At the tender age of four, my father departed,
Leaving an enduring ache within, reality had me thwarted.
I questioned God’s love, in moments of despair,
Why would He cause such sadness ?

I knew so little then, innocence held my view,
Unaware and exposed, my young heart feeling askew.
I thought he slumbered, within that closed domain,
But why in a wooden box, in silence’s long chain?

I called to him, my pleas unanswered, left me sad,
Why doesn’t Daddy respond? A feeling, so bad.
Rejection’s sting, it struck me, a pain so sharp,
He was gently laid to rest,
Beside my grandmother’s house, in a rectangular hole he lay,
I gazed around, grown-ups weeping, their tears held at bay.
I wondered who had hurt them, for in my childlike view,
Crying meant someone was beaten, but why were they all so blue?

Confusion wrapped my thoughts, my sister by my side,
She whispered, “Daddy’s gone,” a truth I couldn’t hide.
“What is this death?” I asked, in my innocence so sweet,
Soon, I grasped the truth that Daddy couldn’t wake from his sleep.

Love for him, aching within, his care so complete,
He signed me up for karate, I wanted to be like him.
But now we were a family with one hand, forever incomplete,
My mother, at twenty-six, a widow’s fate to meet.

I still miss him, his presence in every way,
But fate can be unkind, taking loved ones away.
It’s why I both fear and don’t, the concept of our end,
But our mother, she stepped in, as our rock, our dearest friend.

To Dad, may your soul rest in eternal peace’s embrace,
Life with you would have been different,
You chose a strong woman, and in her, we found grace,
A superwoman, both dad and mom, in one loving face.

@okelododdychitchats