Clad in graduating green robe and black hat
All dressed up with a goofy smile
Readying to take on the adult world..
The Hippocrates oath ushering you into a bittersweet life of service
I look on in envy, simultaneously beaming with pride
You are setting the standard and I am following…
The scene changes,
You, me, uncle and aunty pose for photos
The scene changes
I give a toast at your wedding reception dinner
The scene changes
Happy but tired, you cradle your first born son in your arms
The scene changes
I am in graduating green, you in a charcoal grey suit, we pose for a photo
We are the doctors…
With a start, the sandman drags me out of my daydream
Reality settles and my heart tears up a time more
Something is wrong, something is very wrong
The sky is blue, the sun is shining, the birds tweeting
But something is very wrong
Surely Loki God of mischief has played a bad April fool’s joke on me
I am waiting for the punch line.
Waiting for someone to scream ‘Gotcha’!!
Waiting for you to come out of the shadows and laugh at my misery ridden face
But the harsh slap of reality is all I get
You are gone
Amidst an atmosphere of mystery and the unknown
You are gone
All that’s left is a soulless composition of carbon
Unrecognizable,,,but it’s you
Lying there, with a secret no one shall ever know
You are gone
As your eternal bed is lowered into the dust , the shock and disbelief still resonate
As the dust embraces your resting place, the reality finally hits
As the day dream ends and I look upon the wreaths, the truth becomes a bitter pill to swallow
Now I believe what they say, that the good die young
Your journey was cut short, just as it begun
Such a slap of irony, at the end of a 7yr run
But defiant to the end, you remain alive in my memories
In a congruence of possible futures that could have defined the rest of your life
In a walk down memory lane were we once took down a pair of 6 pacs…..
But wishes and memories fail to stand in for the cold hard truth.
Till we meet again,
Goodbye Leonard.
By Muchimba Sinzala Kabeta (Zambia)
From the poet-This piece is dedicated to Leonard Sibajene who was my cousin, A good friend,bother and mentor over the years who died on April 1st 2013 (ironically april fools day), He was just about to write his final exam and complete his 7 year medical course. His death has left a void and no answers meet the endless questions. sleep well buddy