Life has been mental the last few weeks, but full of lots of good things that have made me feel full to bursting. One such good thing was a flying visit to Sussex to surprise our great friend and pastor of our church in Brighton at his 60th birthday party. Over the past few years Andy Au welcomed us into his home literally countless times, fed, 'watered', gave, encouraged, counselled, laughed with, and even married us. People in churches all around the world know Andy for his dancing, I'm just very glad to say he's my friend.
I wrote this poem for him, and read it out at the party. I think it sums him up quite well. And it was a lot of fun writing :-)
Andy Au
Some say…
He’s Brighton’s answer to Bruce Lee
Chinese blood running through his veins
Crouching low
Leaping high
Moving with power and grace
Wooden staff at the ready
To fight enemies
Defend his territory
And creeping noiselessly through the darkness
In his crocs…
Others say...
He's Asia’s answer to James Bond:
A gadget for everything
Ipod Ipad Iphone Imac
Streamlining strategies
And undercover missions to all parts of the globe
Dressed in black
A whisky in hand
Charming the ladies with his…
Poo jokes?
Or
Perhaps an escaped Buddhist monk from Calcutta?
Gok Wan’s uncle?
Gordon Ramsey’s nemesis?
The next star of Gangnam?
Poster boy for China Garden … or Gin and tonic …
What do you say?
Andy Au
Spell that how?
Father, brother
Joking with his mother
Football fan
The better man
Dancing from the Highlands to Hungary
From Sri Lanka to NYC
He’s not the tallest
But his flags aren’t the smallest
The man who married us
The man who’ll rarely take a bus
But he’ll often drive the extra mile
And he’ll always do so with a smile
Curry master
Is that really your pastor?
Door’s always open
No worries if you’re broken
There’s a space for you here
And a listening ear
(And probably beer)
And some pork done teriyaki
A special secret recipe
Then maybe some raucous laughter
Mischief starter
Slapping of thighs
He’s actually really wise
And for leader - very humble
Never heard him grumble
We’re lucky to know him
And really there’s no one else like him
Bruce and James don’t even compare
To the man with the biggest heart (and not so much hair)
A shining star, a faithful friend
To you Mr Au, birthday greetings we send
Andy Au
Some say…
He’s Brighton’s answer to Bruce Lee
Chinese blood running through his veins
Crouching low
Leaping high
Moving with power and grace
Wooden staff at the ready
To fight enemies
Defend his territory
And creeping noiselessly through the darkness
In his crocs…
Others say...
He's Asia’s answer to James Bond:
A gadget for everything
Ipod Ipad Iphone Imac
Streamlining strategies
And undercover missions to all parts of the globe
Dressed in black
A whisky in hand
Charming the ladies with his…
Poo jokes?
Or
Perhaps an escaped Buddhist monk from Calcutta?
Gok Wan’s uncle?
Gordon Ramsey’s nemesis?
The next star of Gangnam?
Poster boy for China Garden … or Gin and tonic …
What do you say?
Andy Au
Spell that how?
Father, brother
Joking with his mother
Football fan
The better man
Dancing from the Highlands to Hungary
From Sri Lanka to NYC
He’s not the tallest
But his flags aren’t the smallest
The man who married us
The man who’ll rarely take a bus
But he’ll often drive the extra mile
And he’ll always do so with a smile
Curry master
Is that really your pastor?
Door’s always open
No worries if you’re broken
There’s a space for you here
And a listening ear
(And probably beer)
And some pork done teriyaki
A special secret recipe
Then maybe some raucous laughter
Mischief starter
Slapping of thighs
He’s actually really wise
And for leader - very humble
Never heard him grumble
We’re lucky to know him
And really there’s no one else like him
Bruce and James don’t even compare
To the man with the biggest heart (and not so much hair)
A shining star, a faithful friend
To you Mr Au, birthday greetings we send
No comments:
Post a Comment