Kevin by Andrew

Bald he was, and full of cheek,
Unable to walk, battery powered was his chair;
Unable to sit comfortably, or even breathe with any sense of ease,
Unable to eat, protruding from his stomach was a rubber tube,
Stiff and sore, with pain and spasm a too constant companion,
He needed our constant care and attention.

My friend Kevin, I tended him three years and more,
Washed him, fed him and so much more;
Kept him from suffocating, my hands beneath his ribs;
Tended him against the wear,
And rolled up a towel for his fingers at night.

But for all that I gave, selfish am I,
For I got more from him than I could hope to return,
Giving freely of his friendship, courage and strength,
Much he taught me - of life, and inevitably of death,
No matter his struggle and pain, life could always bring him joy.
And the courage he showed, in the facing of certain death,
Was nothing short of heroic.

And his legacy of friends,
Is wealth uncountable -
Together we strived,
Together we laughed,
Unselfishly we cared,
Unashamedly we cried,
And together we sat,
We sat and we shared,
Around his bed as he died.

A shaggy old cap, an hilarious gummy smile,
An eye for the women, a wealth of practised frowns,
A word of understanding when it was needed,
"Me hat, me hat", "Where ya been?!"
"Boolshit, boolshit!", "I'm gonna kill Emma, I'll kill 'er!"

Part of me he kept alive,
When torn apart I would see his pain -
Ready always to laugh at himself,
As he would enthusiastically laugh at our ( admittedly few ) mistakes,
And who could forget "Two dogs","55",
And that very cross nun?

An honourable gentleman, the best of friends,
And....
"A dirty, dirty, dirty old man!"

Safe journeys, Kev.
And wherever you are,
Don't you forget me,
'Coz one day together,
Across the heavens,
Our Harleys'll go side by side.