Legacy Lingers

I was totally awaken
when my grandparents told my uncle
“If there’s anything that you can be proud
in being a man, it’s where, when you settle down
with your beloved woman, not in the lowly
circumstances you leave them behind”
A parent’s wisdom
that lingers in my mind

I was not dreaming then
when my grandparents finally told him
“be man enough!”
“be responsible!”
“you did it, then, face it!”
“running away could only mean
one thing – callousness
and that’s not in our blood”.

For once, I thought of him as an idol
An athletic psyche he possessed
Always on the go for an action
Typical for every woman’s admiration
Who would have thought of his dissolution?
Fifteen years ago, Eric, turned
Achilles the vulnerable

I may have succumbed to the same spiel
being of a feather, God forbid
for way back in Spring Land
I compelled the duty of a budding lad
Against all odds
said “I do” to the woman I love
Emulating responsibility and commitment
made them proud all throughout