Rubens Colombo Lima

Today I woke up too early
I missed you, my father
I looked at the chair where we used to drink mate, it was empty
And a silence took over me
When at the head of the table
You weren't there either
Then I remembered my childhood
Not only of the great father
But also of the great friend
Of the affection you gave me
Of your teachings
That at the time didn't matter so much to me
But it was in you that I mirrored myself
Clutching onto your bombacha, I learned to be a man
I learned to be humble to not be humiliated
To be a friend to friends
To respect in order to be respected
You taught me to have courage to control my own impulses
And to always seek the truth by my side
Because evil only preys on the weak
And those are already defeated
Don't worry about what others think of you
But rather about your conscience
A man is what he is
And not what anyone thinks
Take care in your actions
Like a well-saddled horse
Don't be afraid to apologize when you're wrong
And whenever you can, forgive, without feeling defeated
For happy is the man, with such greatness, who has overcome sin
Don't be ashamed to have dirt under your nails
But a soul as clean as a stream in a rocky bed
Be committed, be honest, hardworking
Fair and grateful
And the further you go
The more you remember where you came from
No matter how much you've succeeded
Never step over
Those who have fallen
For an unarmed man is worth more
Than a weapon without a man
A wretched man is worth more than a man with a poor soul
In the smoke of a ground fire
From the old shed where we drank mate
Remained the essence of what you passed on to me
Like the queen of my memories
To heal this wound
For sure, my old man
Your teachings that helped me
To carve out a place in life
Today I woke up too early
At least in thought
To drink mate with you, my father