Late last year our family lost Rodney Cole, father and grandfather. My nephew Isaiah, 14, wrote an elegy in his honor. Here you go …
A fallen English man breathes his last breath.
Rodney had been seemingly immortal,
Had overcome multiple cancer, and severe injuries too
But everyone can die, everyone is mortal
Rodney had an effect on those he knew,
Made them happy, was always in a pleasant mood.
He knew when to respect others
When to joke around,
And when to back down
He was always full of life even when he got old
At fancy restaurants, he’d fling food at his grandchildren
Fling food all around the table,
ROUND AND ROUND
FLING
SLPASH!
The grandkids driving Rodney around the golf course
Don’t go on the grass, DON’T GO ON THE GRASS! he screamed.
Or your turn is over, he’d say with a chuckle,
Taking pictures of wildlife – eagles, crocodiles, and even cheetahs – what he loved
Took me on a drive once and explained to me,
How many of the photos,
Meant so so much to him.
Rodney, happy, went out peacefully,
Comfortably, died in the arms of his loved ones
That fateful Thursday, declared terminal was he;
Then, around 5 at night, Rodney moved on to the next life.
And I know that if he was still here, he would be proud of me,
For what I’ve become,
I owe it to him, the fallen Englishman,
Too old to play the sport,
I owe him, a continue to his legacy.
