“He's my hero, and without him, who knows where I'd be."
It’s my grandfather, Abbu Ji
He’s the kindest, most caring, and generous person I’ve ever met
The most patient, giving, and loving person in the world, I bet
It’s a ride through emotions, this story
But in the end, you’ll be left with glee
He was born in a village, 1952
But today, it’s an underwater zoo
Years later to Army Burn Hall, a boarding school in Abbottabad he was sent
While in Kuwait, his family went
My great grandfather, a man with eyes green like the sea
Gave his best friend the power of attorney
He trusted him with a big piece of land
But he got greedy, that supposed best friend
He went to the court and the land he claimed
He put the land under his name
My great grandfather, with that sudden shock
Took his family, leaving all his stock
To Pakistan, they all flew
Not knowing what to do
Then the worst thing happened
Because of the impact
That his brother like friend betrayed him, caused my great-grandfather a heart attack
Next to his father’s death bed, my grandpa sat beside
The sadness inside, that his father had not survived
The sudden surprise
First came sadness then anger came by
A child’s worst fear, a parent to die
A parent dying at the age of 45 when their children are oh so young
Alas, everyone’s time is yet to come
At the age of 16, my grandpa started working on ships
From the sadness, his heart turning to stone brick
Soon he got over it and wanted a new life
He wanted to have kids, marry and have a wife
Then the year 1980 had come
It was time to marry
So he settled down, Abbu Ji
And married beautiful (and bossy) woman, Bibi Tasleem
They had 5 five kids, Nosika, Faiza, Bilal, Sham, and Danish
Nosika is the least flexible one,
She didn’t listen to anyone
She did whatever she thought was best,
Even if it meant a lot of heft
Faiza is the one who could be strict or kind
She used books to sharpen her mind
And if you did something wrong,
She’d stare at you wide her wide eyes for an hour-long
Danish is a generous, fun, and loving man
But let me make this clear,
I don’t get to see him much
‘Cuz he visits once every 3 years!
Bilal was the one who was a lot of fun
But any chance he got, from home he’d run
He is very handsome with that black hair of his
A “nothing but friends” life he lives
Ehtisham is the youngest but the sweetest of all
He’d take time out for me just to play ball
We’re all a nice squad
But his future wife and he are two peas in a pod
Back when my mom, Faiza was 7 and in grade one
Abbu Ji left for America
And that’s where the change had begun
He returned 8 years later when my mom was 15
My mom cried ecstatic tears, 8 years her dad she hadn’t seen
While Faiza lay sick in her bed
She didn’t know the life ahead!
She recovered and the family traveled to my home, Virginia
She married my dad, had four kids, Fatiha , me!) Taha, Haadiya, and Seerah.
That one huge sacrifice Abbu Ji had made
All that money, time, he had paid,
Had changed the course of his family’s future, where his grandchildren will once turn one decade
Where they’ll have a better education, life, and opportunities
Where his sacrifice in our family will be remembered for all eternity
