An Ode to Tok Lebaq

Tok Lebaq has left us on the early morning of Sunday 9th 2005. I was in Gurun driving to Perlis with Juli, when Che Wang call to say Tok Lebaq dah tak de lagi. She tak sempat to taste the fuji apple that i kirim her.

If this has happen a week earlier .. Che Wang and me are still in Bali.

Al-fatihah for Tok Lebaq. I will post the ode that Chor writes for TL.

Here it is (26th May 2005)

An Ode to Tok Lebaq
(who passes peacefully on the 8th of May 2005, May Allah Bless Her)
(fashioned after Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s “Sonnets from the Portuguese”)


How do I remember thee? Let me count the ways:

I remember when your name was fist mentioned,
Spoken with underlying affection,
I wondered at the person,
Who could invoke such deep devotion,
From a granddaughter who otherwise seems utterly “no-nonsense”

I remember that day I met you,
Such a wonder I should tell you,
That a big, bulky name has been given,
To such a tiny graceful woman

The most profound thing I remember though,
Is how warm you welcomed us all,
So gracious a host I couldn’t ask for,
You embraced us into the family with sincere candour

I remember your eyes and seasoned face
They mirrored well-numbered journeys through time and space
Of life full of wisdom and sage
That never waned in spite of your age

We will always remember our honorary grandmother
With fondness in hearts but regrets never
You have touched our lives and somehow make them richer
We shall treasure that always and forever

May Allah bless you with His most worthy Rahmah
Tok Lebaq, we solemnly bid you goodbye with His words, al-Fatihah


May 10, 2005
12 noon
(Ida)