I hugged the fire
My skin burns off its bones
The pain underneath
It is almost unbearable
I scramble to keep the fire alive
I am still burning
I ignore the pain
My self-destruction
As I give my heart to those who ask for it
The flames dance
I struggle to keep the spark we once had
You know the one that started this
wildfire
The fire starts to die
I sink to the earth
I blow the air from within my lungs
With the charcoaled remains of this heart
I tell myself I will keep its luminous glow alive
I scream for the fire to take all of me
...
It begs for more

-Ann

Ask me who is the most generous man I know and I shall speak his name
Ask me who is the most humble man I know and him I shall acclaim
Ask me who is the most altruistic man I know and his face shall be on the frame
Ask me who is the most kindhearted man I know and you will hear his name again
In my life, I've never met anyone like him again

A man devoted to his family and his community
Always preaching the word of God and leading us to felicity
Always ready to sacrifice his needs for the sake of love and unity
He taught us family, love, fraternity, forgiveness, religion, compassion, tolerance, peace and generosity

I am who I am today thanks to his teachings
He was a leader, a guide, our role model
There is no one like him

He was a father, a brother, a friend, a companion, a grandfather
16 years since he is gone but his words still resonate like thunder
You are no longer here but your teachings linger
A man who was not afraid to cry when needs be but also not afraid to yell and impose order

Always playful with kids and receptive and caring with adults
I feel privileged and lucky to have known him and call him grandpa
For in my life he has played a huge and special part
The memories I will treasure and keep them in my heart

Although he is gone, we will always be together
And his spirit will live on in each one of us forever
From where he is, he is protecting us and guiding us on our way
He is praying for us everyday

He used to pray God "Let it be I who fall sick instead of one of my family member. Let it be I who die instead of someone in my family."
What kind of man wishes for that, you ask.
Someone special I will say, a man of love
And I would like to thank God above
For blessing us with this man, with his kindness and love

I truly believe that God has gifted him with something special
He taught us not to let this world be in our heart for it is not eternal
I know he is in a better place
Watching us all with a smile on his face
I hope we are making you proud from where you are
We are still crying an ocean of tears
As we feel so empty and hold many fears

If I could just turn back the time to those days you used to laugh with us and made us feel so special and loved
Those days you pretended to be in pain when we stepped on your feet while we were playing
Those days when they were only you and us in the room with your half covered grey and curled hair
Those days we used to watch tv together and whenever there was an intimate scene you screamed your favorite word "Touc" and scared us (not that I know what it means)

Time will heal so they say
And time fades away
While a part of us is taken away
I know we will meet again one day
But until that day
Know that you are truly missed
Mame Alassane Lahi whom we affectionately called Mame Rane

I have cried so many tears for you that you will never see.

I have prayed so many times for you to a God that neither of us actually believe in.

I would’ve sacrificed my life,
my dreams,
every single one of my fingers that you’ve called ‘adorable,'
all just to make you happy for a moment.

And yet,
you still left.

And yet,
I wasn’t surprised.

And yet,
I’d do it all again.