Reflections of Aba, My Father
I wrote these poems in the year following the death of my beloved father, Eugene Blum, Yoel Ben Basia. May he Rest In Peace.
A rhyme for aba
where are you where are you
where have you been
to heaven to heaven to visit the queen?
what did you,
what did you find,
find there.
something new
to wear,
to wear?
a new kind of body spic and span soul
can you see angels does Hashem bowl
thunder and lightning took you away
i watched your last breath
July 5, 2009, 4:45pm,
Sunday.
will you still visit your smell i do miss
can you send it my way a hug and a kiss
phone calls and dreams do you watch
are you there?
I’m hoping
and praying
I’ll
see
you
somewhere.
over the rainbow
or under the sea
I’ll be waiting
forever
whenever
you’re
.free
Unveiling
My aba, my father you’ve gone
so far away, you’ve left
this stone, this marker in your place
your grave remains, we are bereft
You told me how you missed your Mom
and Dad throughout the years
and now I know just how you felt
I know from all my tears
You lived your life
fulfilled your purpose
moved to that other side
one year has passed
so time cries out
still emptiness and death abide
My grief it fills the oceans
like a leaf it sails along
somehow carrying your spirit,
your heart, your soul, your song
I grasp it…, to hold it,
I reach, and deep inside
I find you, I remember
in me you come alive
When my dad passed on July 5, 2009 at 4:45 PM after eight years of medical challenges I was thrust into a timeless spiritual dimension. Perhaps it was my way to stay connected to him in the world of souls, to hold on as long as possible.
My dad was my world for the eight years that my mom and I took care of him. We advocated on his behalf as he healed and relapsed again and again.
As the candle that lasts throughout shiva slowly disappeared I couldn’t have been more sad, his light his soul was moving further from my grasp.
Today, 11 years later as my dad‘s yartzeit is near I read these poems and find them to be such a gift. From a distance I think about him with grief anew, tears that have brought me to a bittersweet acceptance that he is no longer here. And a deepening gratitude, that my dad truly does live on in me, and always will.
Read more by Hinda Blum.
Hinda, These are such loving poems about your dad. The feelings are so strong, that I can feel how you feel.
Thank you so much Linda. You are right, I have expressed some very strong feelings here, glad they come across in a way that others can feel them too.
dear Hinda, i really appreciated your poetic mournings…thank you for sharing thoughts and feelings so personal and universal at the same time. blessings on the memory of your father and for your writing too.