Poesy Liangartist

I Remember You 老爸

June 20, 2021 at 03:11 PM (5y ago)

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5 min read

In loving memory of my father Leong Khai Kwan August 24th 1939 - June 14th 2021

This is a poem I wrote for my father during the first 24 hours of his passing. 2 earlier drafts were read during his wake service on Tuesday June 15th 2021 and his funeral service on Wednesday June 16th 2021 held on Zoom and at Xiao En Centre, Kuala Lumpur. This poem was fine tuned over a few days, now published as a Father’s Day dedication.

I remember an exciting walk in the city You showed me this colourful country Spending the National Day with your little girl Perched on your shoulders with the best view in the world

I remember you with a cheerful stride Your lap was my daily amusement ride Your laugh was always so contagious Your madness was also quite outrageous

Whenever you picked me up from school You do a familiar whistle that was oh so cool While other parents scrambled to find their offsprings Like a homing device I run towards your whistlings

你是我們的老爸, and we were blessed You didn’t have much but you tried your best You wanted your children to have all the smarts You gave me great masters to hone me in the arts

We lived our lives with little to no frills But I was given some unusual skills Because of you I did so much more Artistic traits from you I must explore

I took on your gift of the writing pen I was composing before the age of ten Exploring the wonders of nursery rhyming I was your little poet in the making

Tags:familyfathergodgratitudejournallifelovememorypoetryprayertimetransformation

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Making ends meet while you insisted Our personal growth must be persisted Till you personally ran out of might We were expected to still stay so bright

You had some very tall dreams That fell apart at all the seams Inevitably you were faced with sorrows But we must make better all our tomorrows

Reality was harsh and life got difficult It must have been hard, when I became disabled My heartbroken father who was always kind Your happiness was dimmed for a very long time

You struggled to see me in a wheelchair Your life must have felt beyond despair You tried to be strong for all of us You wanted to get my health back first

We are a family of great survivors Through highly impossible factors Crises that came with no absolute cures But insured by this street wisdom of yours

I do rather you stayed a lot longer I do wish I was a better daughter After we stand up from many great falls Life has a way of throwing us curveballs

You were always a great believer You were also a crazy dreamer We will keep alight your torch of love May you be proud of us from up above

Grateful to have the chance for redemption It brought us back to the time of creation Precious memories of your values detailed Where fatherly love and family prevailed

We know our roots unconditionally We promise to live with much dignity Till I have done my time here complete God willing, so again we shall meet

In the end you made an eternal vow So Jesus will keep you forever now Our loving father to us you are dear Your memory with God in heaven is near

You went home to God in restful peace The fact that you will be sorely missed We promise to stick together for all times Till our last hour when the clock tower chimes

Only His children gets to return home Our lost spirits will not aimlessly roam Like we do on this forsaken earth Lost from the day of our human birth

You led our family as our father Making a humble life with dear mother You lived and ripened till eighty two And returned to God to be brand new

We are grateful to journey through life Despite the hardships and all the strife My dearest pa, my crazy big heart Through joy and sorrow, till death did us part

We had Pastor Christopher Toh of Chinese Methodist Hokkien Church conduct the wake service on Tuesday June 15th 2021 in English/Chinese and Pastor James Doss of Amazing Grace Christian Fellowship conduct the funeral service on Wednesday June 16th 2021 in English. My father’s body was cremated and his bone ashes were placed at Nilai Memorial Park in CE-01-10 on Thursday June 17th 2021. Due to the global pandemic, Justin and Monica was unable to travel to Kuala Lumpur and tuned in via zoom from Shanghai.

I Remember You 老爸