Tribute Poem for Mahlet Girma  a.k.a. Chuni as some of us call her.

A little background about this poem. The original was written exactly a year ago in September 2020. Chuni and I had a long conversation about being afraid and in the process she won to teach me not be afraid. "አንቴክስ ማን ሊፈራ ከእግዚያብሔር ጋራ አይደል?” was her conclusion.

After few months as she was going through some ups and downs, I found her on her down day. I remembered what she had told me about not being afraid. That same late evening, I found the will to write this and shared it with her to lift her up as she taught me herself.

Reading it again this week, the words was still true even after she went to the Lord. I edited a very small part at the bottom for her tribute. Hope these words speak for everyone. May she Rest In Peace 

Who is Afraid?

When there is a bump on the road

You always stay strong,

You are never short to find your way

And discover another pathway.

When you are down, you lift yourself up

In return, you lift us all up

You are never afraid

Neither are you scared.

I have known you from jardin d’enfants

To our Lycee memorable gradin

Your joyful character always brought happiness

As you believed in each day for its brightness,

But this time, you have shown me that you are a fighter

So now, I have become your charger.

At the end, you came out on top as always

Because you always found yet another pathway,

You never let the battle define you

rather you let it refine you.

As you have left behind a memory engraved

A mark that cannot be erased,

Like a woven fiber into the lives of others

We shall carry on fulfilling your wish for needs of others

As you told us to care for one another.

As we talked many times about being afraid

And since you were never scared, I am neither afraid

May you rest in peace my dear friend.

Written by Anteneh Zewde

For my childhood & wonderful friend Mahlet Girma

ተወርዋሪ ኮኮብ ብልጭ ብላ ጠፋች

በአጭር ዘመኗ የስንቱን ልብ ነካች

ለአንድ አፍታም ቢሆን ብርሃኗ አበራ

አይተን ተገረምን በሰራችው ሥራ

አስፈሪው በሽታ ካንሰር የሚሉት

ገላልጣ አሳየችን የኛዋ ማሕሌት

ድቅድቁን ጨለማ ተሻገረች ዘልቃ

ሄደች ወደ ሰማይ በብርሃኗ ደምቃ

ገድሏን ተጋደለች ሩቻዋን ጨረሰች

ሞት አካሏን ቢወስድ እሷ እኛ ውስጥ አለች

Though you’re taken away on angle wings

what a glorious flight we got to witness

You were our shooting star sliding down the sky

leaving footprints of your presence to remember you by

Though we can’t see you it’s a comfort to have seen

your transient life is over what a blessing that you've been

we saw and we still see your light shining our way

A ray of hope that shines for us to brighten our day

Chuniye, you know are with your father. May you Rest in Eternal Peace!!!

My condolences to all your family. 

Special Angel In Heaven

There’s a special Angel in Heaven

That is a part of me.

It is not where I wanted her

but where God wanted her to be.

She was here but just a moment

like a night time shooting star

And though she is in Heaven,

she isn’t very far.

She touched the hearts of many

like only Angels can.

I would’ve held her every minute

If I’d only known God’s plan.

So I send this special message

to the Heavens up above.

Please take care of my Angel

and send her all my love.

For This Child I Prayed.......1 Samuel 1:27

(Written by: unknown)