'Gone The Way Of Mortals' Papa Poem by Arinzechukwu Bright Okafor

September the fourth—
A day history remembers.

On the fourth of September,1781,
Los Angeles was founded
By Spanish settlers led by
Governor Felipe de Neve.

On that same day in 1886,
Geronimo and his Apache warriors
Surrendered to General Nelson Miles
At Skeleton Canyon, Arizona.

And on September the fourth,1917,
A German plane attacked
A British-run base hospital in France,
Claiming the first American fatalities
Of the First World War.

But there was another September fourth—
A Friday in 2009—
When history came to our door
And took from us
The man whose presence
Gave definition to our lives.

Papa.

Born at Idalikpa Farmstead,
A scion of the royal and priestly family of Mbunyie,
He grew into a scholar of great repute,
Whose fame spread throughout
The old Onitsha Province.

A Senior Prefect in his college days,
He proved that the leopard's precision
Gets better with age
When, in the eighties,
He came second in a global essay competition
Organised by the BBC.

Papa was a teacher—
One of the best.

When he was transferred
From Nando to Anam, his hometown,
Peaceful protests arose
To reverse the transfer.

Known affectionately as Teacher Solo,
His pupils and the Ubarunisioye Nando community
Still remember his years among them
With nostalgia.

Before the war,
He served in the traffic section
Of the Nigerian Railway,
Where intelligence was the first qualification.
There, too, he proved his worth,
Earning the admiration
Of superiors and subordinates alike.

Then came the Civil War.

Like other real men of his time,
Papa stood in defence of Ndi-Igbo
When the Federal troops came calling.

He took active part
In the periodic opening of the corridor
Between Biafra One and Biafra Two,
Keeping commerce alive
In the midst of war.

As a father,
He was protective, yet firm.
He believed in discipline
And was a strong apostle
Of self-reliance.

His counsel was simple:

"Be a hero in the strife."

He lived those words.

Through many troubled waters,
His resilience and the Grace of Him above
Carried the family through—
And somehow,
We came out with smiles on our faces.

Among all who ever lived,
He is the one I respect most.

Apart from God,
I owe him everything.

But Papa has gone.

He has gone the way of men.
He has gone the way of mortals.

Yet as we mourn him,
As we celebrate him,
As we bury him,
Let us pause and count his legacies:

The man.
The Father.
The Uncle.
The Cousin.
The Nephew.
The Friend.
The Co-Tenant.
The Co-Worker.
The Grandfather.
The Pensioner.
The Mentor.
The Wise Man.
The Biafran Soldier.
The Great Teacher.
The son of a Priest—
And a Priest in his own right.

Let us preserve his wisdom,
Live his philosophy,
And carry forward the lessons
Of the life he lived.

For though his footsteps have ceased,
The road he showed us remains.

Though his voice is silent,
His words still speak.

On Friday, September the fourth,2009,
Papa left this earth plane.

He went the way of men.

He went the way of mortals.

But his legacy remains.