"Words Without Thoughts Never to Heaven Go"

With a certain Dane's words as guidance, I sat down to remember a fallen relative. Elegies have thankfully been few and far between for me and I was keen on ensuring that mine did not dissolve into a generic tribute applicable to any kind-hearted man. This man was a giant in the family and no scribblings could recreate the way a room would sway when he entered. My only lyrical consolation was to address him directly, as he had done every time he spoke to me:

"Uncle Harm, your hospitality springs eternal. Whenever I arrived States-side after months overseas, you were the first to welcome me back to America's heartland. Yes, I do fancy a game of ping pong and lunch with your sprightly bride. How humbling it was to observe a man in the element of his own making, the spoils of years of hard work and unabated love.

Your focus was always your companion, never yourself; your curiosity for what others have seen insatiable; your capacity for merriment undiminished through the years. Has the world known a more genuine or reassuring handshake?

I can only end by giving you a title I hope you'll wear proudly in Heaven: the grandfather I never had.

Amen, my buddy, Amen"