A Year Passed Since My Dad Has Left

Tomorrow, 29 of January, 2015, is the first memorial of my father who passed away in Jeddah, KSA. This poem is in his remembrance, may God bless his soul

A Year Passed Since My Dad Has Left

Rifaat Youssef-Agha (1920-2014)

A Year passed since my dad has left

The tear is still flooding and the eye is drowned

His departure left the soul with a wound

His departure left the heart with a burn

He left to a world that is close and far

Leaving behind a family that is suffering his absence

Forgetting him is impossible; who does forget his beloved ones?

And every time we remember him, grief comes to visit us

***

Oh, Abu-Adnan (nick name), you were the glory flag of our family

Your departure was so hard on the closest and furthest

You were the one with high dignity, generosity and reputation

No one mentions you without praising

No one came to you in need and left disappointed

Your heart was always pure more than purity

You always were the main support to your dad and relatives

You received good wishes no one else had

To us, you were the icon we wanted to be

You reached the highest ranks in respect and morality

No children could dream to have a dad better than you

The tolerance in your nature reached top levels

You departed, and all of us are on the same path

You left us, but to the one who never leaves

I see the human beings standing in lanes

Holding cups and the (death) angel is the bartender

Every human being is either departing or waiting to depart

The one who is waiting doesn’t know how long left

Every one who is walking on the surface of the earth

Doesn’t know when he will be thrown in its tummy

***

A Poem translation

(Can be shared without permission)

By Tarif Youssef-Agha

An Expatriate Arab Syrian Writer & Poet

Wednesday January 28, 2015, Houston, Texas

http://sites.google.com/site/tarifspoetry