A Good Day for Eternity

My father woke as every day,

cheerful, come what may.

He no doubt shaved, put on his clothes

and headed out to play.

A coffee and a paper

            were the morning fare each time,

So why not on this final morn

            begin the daily rhyme?

A sip or two with mother

            before eternity,

The perfect end and beginning

            for a noble life to free.

My father was a great man,

            far greater than I’ll be.

His love I never questioned

            nor his generosity.

He always thought of others first,

            and even when he grumbled,

You knew he could not help but do

            the selfless and the humble.

His love for God you could not doubt,

            no deed was out of sync

With the life he thought that God desired

            —he didn’t have to think.

A coffee with my mother

and time to visit God.

I’ll sleep now for a moment,

            take a little nod.

Don’t be too sad, I am at rest,

I leave this world in peace.

My life both here and elsewhere,

            you know will never cease.