For Simon
Saturday, 23 September 2023
For quite some years now, on occasion
Following my Dad’s bookish passions
I’ve been penning awful poems
Poems though that tell a story
Longfellow’s meter not respected
Writing a la Hiawatha.
Dare I share my mangled verses?
Why not, you shout – let us hear it!
Since here we are all gathered nicely
Come to celebrate a key birthday
Of a man who shuns the limelight
Simon’s always self-effacing
Silent sort, most unforthcoming.
Nepal it was, brought us together
Eight and forty years ago.
Our first meeting, Simon teases
A short encounter I scarce recall.
Simon spoke little, how could I know him?
Said nothing of the lives he’d altered
Made engineering sound so boring
Our encounter soon forgotten
By me anyway
Five years later, I spoke at uni
Nepali tall tales, great adventures
There he was a-listening keenly.
He came up, once I’d stopped speaking
Showed passion for all things Nepali
Though never claiming expertise
Limelight shunner, that is Simon.
We grew together; careers they blossomed
Sri Lanka first, then Indonesia.
A pause for childbirth, Pakistan
Fenland drainage, GP training
Then Pakistan again: the River Indus
Xander’s curls drew admiration
Little David’s even more so
Wee Seb, the charmer, made a fivesome
Our lives completing one full circle
As we settled back in Nepal
That lovely troubled wondrous country.
Alex pushing Sebastian forward
For to scrounge another sweetie.
Where Simon’s known for quietly scheming
Also pushing local colleagues
To achieve awesome successes
Raising up the very poorest
After earthquakes ravaged many.
We adults made some contributions
Handing over lightened batons
Those legacies made leaving easy
Coming home to celebrate
A worthy career full of adventure
Lots of memories to savour
For a wee while, before the next trip.
A toast then, marking rich decades, seven
Let’s raise a glass of wine, or something
To Simon!
23td September
Posted:
23/09/2023 17:07:20 by
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