Song for Aba D

You visualised yourself Walking in the stream in silence Never splashing the water, never Trampling the lilies

Only gently displacing the Pebbles as you amble

In solitude, by yourself, Alone.

So much time spent in tending

The flock, potting the plants, planting

The seeds that would grow the trees Upon which your head would rest at the End of the endless journey when there Would be no more pain, no more anguish, No more suffering, no more uncertainty Only the fragments of your love remaining In the hearts of those you embraced.

You walked in splendour in the moon-lit night Never fearing the dark, never lamenting the Day’s heavy load, only smelling the sweet Essence of the early morning jasmine while Holding back the tears masked in petals of Laughter.

Yet as the uncharted days shortened you Clung to the words, songs and melodies, That paved the way for tomorrow’s mission. You walked in silence like the passage of time, Endlessly, now and then stumbling, but always Ready to reach out and comfort the fallen From the chilling winds of being

And now as the years descend and you defiantly Stride into the unknown days of expectations Let us embrace one more time at last and say OH DAH-BOH, MAH KROW, GOODBYE. For cousin Aba (Dawes) Polson

— N. Augustus Richards