He Lives On by Opeyemi Adejumobi ____________________________________ He lives on, my hero lives on He lives on, my confidant lives on He lives on; my father lives on The timing of my arrival into the great family you headed was divine You made me feel special in every way You celebrated my successes and held my hands when all hope seemed lost Being one of yours is a privilege I am eternally grateful for You are my mentor, my all, my everything You never gave a hint of doubt of your support through the years You wanted the best for me and did everything you could to make it happen Finding me the best primary school, combing out the best secondary school at a time of hopelessness, taking the lead in my admission to college You did it all without any regrets How can I thank you enough for your hard-work and struggles to provide us with a stable home How can I thank you enough for being the Christ-loving hero in our home, who instilled priceless morals in us and etched godly principles on our minds? How can I thank you enough for the great memories, laughter and great times we shared? Those starry nights, lying down with you on the mat, enjoying the tropical nightly breeze after dinner with the family Those mornings you woke up in the early hours to pray for each one of us Those morning devotions before which you rang the prayer bell that woke me up from my holiday slumber Those long prayers during night devotions that had me fast asleep before they were over Those long and short trips on dangerous roads, all because you never wanted me to lack anything Those visits to the boarding house while I was in isolation on the sickbed Those frightening moments and fun rides while you taught me how to drive Those times you disrupt your personal plans to drop me off at my friends Those times you welcomed my friends warmly into our home Those days you stayed up late with Mom to see me return late in the night Those days you disciplined my stupid actions and bad judgments I could never than you enough I can only thank God for knowing such a caring, exemplary father as you The Bible says it all; “A good man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children”. You have left it all; you left us with more than enough The substance of your faith, character and integrity is with us still I will live to tell of your greatness to my children, your grandchildren I love you Daddy and will forever do!