Pasquale Policelli, my father, passed away one month ago today. He spent the past two years prior to his death fighting hard – lung cancer, lobectomy, COPD and asthma – left him struggling to breathe at the best of times… a bout with pneumonia in the Summer of 2007 left him on oxygen, and two more bouts with pneumonia this Fall led to his passing… He kept his wits about him throughout and he never lost his positive spirit, even with all he had to face he was always there for my mother, my brothers and me, his grandchildren, and all his brothers and sisters…
My father was not an educated man, but he is the smartest man I’ve known and I will miss his love and support, always tempered by his guidance and wisdom. I hope even the tiniest bit of his spirit is embodied in me and that I can live up to his high standards. He never once complained while dealing with his illness these past couple of years. He never once asked “Why me?”. He only asked that he not needlessly suffer, and his peaceful passing during the night, in his sleep, was an answer to that request.
Thank you for indulging this blog post of mine. I had to go into at least a little detail about him – he deserves no less… and so much more…
I wrote the following verse some time ago from a song entitled My Papa’s Clothes:
I want to wear my papa’s clothes
I want to know what papa knows
The pistol dreams he once supposed
The barrel-chested man with the strength of gods inside him
His fear of life subsiding
Secure in the path he chose
I want to wear my papa’s clothes
