My beloved Papa

1922 - 2010

Because of you, just like you, I cry when I laugh,
With a toothy mirth that waters my vision,
And then goes silent, leaving me helpless in a foolish grin,
Until I can wheeze in a breath and wipe my eyes.

Because of you, just like you, I laugh often.

Because of you, just like you, I thrive on stories.

I know to listen for the joy,

To people them with character,

To lose myself in the telling.

Because of you, just like you, I have ears to hear.

Because of you, just like you, I love a tiny Brit,
And love all things British,
And am loved by people who say 'cheers' and 'strawbrees.'

Because of you, just like you, I know a 'mate' when I see one.

Because of you, just like you, I know God welcomes desperate prayers,

Flung up from flimsy rafts in storms,

That He infuses them with His faith,

Even when mine has gone overboard into the waves.

Because of you, just like you, I have a testimony.

Because of you, just like you, I have seen the beauty

Of a faithfully tended garden.

Your memory lives on

In the growing things all around me.

Because of you, just like you, I long for a Garden I have never seen.