You used to tell me when I would admonish you about your drinking
that just like Edgar Allan Poe with his Amontillado, you need your beer
to summon the creative spirit from deep within you.
Yes, you were quite an artist albeit a temperamental one
everyday you pursued the muses, challenged the gods
and wrestled with the demons that came your way.
And this I can say--
You put up a good fight, laughed your heart out and enjoyed
Your Life…
Although in the end you succumbed to the frailties that made and unmade you.
Tonight, I will drink a bottle of beer in your honor
but instead of an Ice-cold San Miguel, I’ll toast a Michelob for you.
So, I say Kampai to you Akihiko!
My Japanese father AKI was born in autumn 2 years after the end of the Second World War and left in May, 18 summers ago to play chess and drink with his buddies in the great beyond.
He would have been 61 today.
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