There are things you never forget, people you never forget, and memories you never forget. As a small child, I lost one of the people I looked up to the most. He was my role model. He was my friend. He was my grandfather. He was my Papa. Some may think I don't remember him because I was so little when he passed, but I beg to differ. I have the fondest memories of him. I would visit him, and he would light up my whole world. He was a good man, and that's how I choose to remember him. Around six years ago, I wrote this poem honoring him:

I've always tried

not to think about it,

try to get it out of my mind,

but nothing has changed

except the fact is that

I still miss you

despite what happened that day.

I still miss how you gave me candies

every time I came to visit you,

or the way you used to smell.

Thinking of it now makes me

want to cry because you're out

of my life now, everyone's life.

I know I shouldn't be sad because

you're in a better place now,

but I just can't help it.

Why couldn't the doctors have

done more to keep you alive?

Nobody really understands

how bad it hurts to have someone

like you taken away from them.

It seems like everyone is trying

to replace you, but I just

can't seem to stop

thinking

about the face that you're

a person that could never

be replaced. It tears me apart

to see people trying to replace you when

in reality I can still feel you around me.

I know you still care.

I miss you,

your smell,

everything about you.

But thank God,

you're in a better

place now.

I know. I know. It's a super amateur poem. However, to this day it reminds me of him and how much I do still miss him. He may be gone, but he'll live forever in my poem and in my heart.

I still miss you, Papa.