The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived   


The greatest man who ever lived
Died two weeks ago tomorrow. 
He was loved so very much
That he left much pain and sorrow.

My father was my hero.
He also was my friend.
I really hate to realize
That's come to an end.

If only it had been sudden-
True, my heart would still be impaired,
But watching him die of cancer-
That just wasn't fair.

For three months I witnessed 
What I could not bear.
My father in such pain 
He was forsaken to a chair.

From that chair he rarely moved.
The pain was so extreme.
As a family we discussed his death- 
I prayed this was a dream.

Of course my father's not deathly ill.
How on earth could that be?
This is my father we're talking about.
He will never leave me.

He will live forever 
On this beautiful earth.
He will live long after 
His great-grandchild's birth.

There was nothing that I wanted 
More than my father's life.
Someone to walk me down the aisle
The day that I become a wife.

The doctors said he had months left
And that would be all.
But miracles do happen- 
That was the motto for us all.

The chemo wasn't working,
There were too many tumors to count,
And it began to look
Like there was no way out.

But none of this is happening.
Not to me, not now.
I'm fourteen years old,
And I still need my father now.                    

He was the one who always
Broke up fights with Mom and me. 
He always had some joke to tell 
And was great company.

He took me to car races
And we loved to watch them crash.
We'd always sneak in candy-
The prices there were trash.

He worked and worked from dawn till dusk
Yet he never did complain
For he loved to make things beautiful-
Especially his domain.

So of course nothing is happening.
Of course nothing is wrong.
Of course the time's not coming 
To play his favorite song.

That song he always mentioned
He wanted played at his funeral.
I didn't think it would be played so soon.
I still can't get that through my skull.

But as I prayed and hoped and wished
For our miracle to come,
While I was gone, back at home
God finally said, "Come."

Suddenly, everything was backward.
Black was white, up was down, flat was round.
I saw my hopes crashing around me, 
There was no solid ground.

People thought they understood.
I can't believe they did!
"I've lost a grandparent, I know how you feel."
That's just what they said.

But they don't know!
Let me tell you this.
I've lost my grandmother as well.
It feels nothing like this.

The greatest man who ever lived-
The one man to whom no one could compare-
I'm proud to call my father
For his type is so rare.

But out of all my grieving,
This thing I know for sure.
Heaven is more joyful than even angels could've imagined
Now that my father's been reborn.

©1998  3/21  By:Justine Winters