Loss of a dear friend

i mourn young polite fella in his early 40s.
a man who never raised his voice
whom i could swear never raised argument with anyone
ever so optimistic,
smiling politely as he went about his business
ever so busy he hardly could find time to break for a roll
sunday, monday, holiday...
were all the same for Jo, when it came to work

woodworking was his hobby, occupation, pastime, employment
he was hardest worker, than anybody or anything around Msasani--
except, perhaps the tirdo termites,
termites so aggressive
they even attempt to eat PVC pipes!
machines would start grrrrrrrring early on during the day,
untill dusk when birds are taking to roost

he never turned any job down
all in good spirit
at any time t he had a score pending
most of them for little more than free
one wonders why one would set out
towards self-denial like this fella
if money was in way related to amount of toil
he woulda been a billionaire

i'm sure he was nowhere near a million
coz the end met him while worrying
on where to raise a hundred dollars
to pay for rented quarters he n family lived
yes, one wonders why one would set out
towards self-denial like this fella

could explain something about
scott, magellan, vasco dagama,
livingstone, mungo park and a score others
left their comfortable homes to explore the seas
some of them never to return home
likely these are made of same chemical compound
that this fella who passed on was made of
that we other mortals arent

so much self-induced slavery
curiously it would seem as if
he enjoyed seeing others around him eat his fruits
he so much laboured for
while he himself took peelings, if anything
otherwise how do you explain
a man sooo thin ever shabby embedded
in a family of well fed well dressed

he shunned public, with no reason to
being handsome and fit as he was
at least up till being bedridden
some weeks before giving it up
why why why would a grown man
succumb to readily curable malaria
just coz body weight couldnt stand it

although i ain't much of a poet
i felt i should put this up for the world
and moral is your family n friends whatever
but for chrissake don't lead slow suicidal life while doing it
mind your health so those individuals
you toil so much for
shall continue seeing you around for many days still

bye jo, friend, now in heaven--wonder if you read blogs up there...
RIP