SEVENTY YEARS OLD TODAY (Rasamindrakotroka Andry Tiana)

Seventy winters—and behold he stands,
His brow now crowned by time’s advancing hands;
His once dark hair, so full of youthful might,
Has turned to silver—marks of honoured light.

His body, shaped by labour and by trial,
Gave all it had, and gave it all the while;
His voice, once strong, resounding, firm and clear,
Now soft and calm, as if from distant sphere.

Seventy years for a man in service,
Whose life was lived in justice, deep and earnest;
He gave his days to love of humankind,
Yet kept his home and family close in mind.

From break of dawn to star-lit hours of night,
He laboured on with spirit burning bright;
A physician’s hand, a teacher’s guiding flame,
To heal, to wake, to elevate in name.

How many souls restored, how many taught,
Who walk today with vision shaped by thought;
For healing and for learning walk as one—
Without them both, the world would come undone.

Seventy years for this honoured guide,
Once held in awe, now loved and dignified;
Like staff that steadies one who walks alone,
He led his own through paths yet unknown.

No man of pride, nor given loud display,
But one who walked with kindness on his way;
Through discipline and effort, firm and true,
He built with care, with purpose ever new.

Seventy years—and still the ardent flame
That led him far, wherever duty came:
To southern lands, to eastern shores afar,
To northern paths beneath uncertain star.

Seventy years—a father, strong and bright,
Who bore the home with labour, soul, and light;
A mind still clear, a heart both just and sure,
Who made of love the armour most secure.

Far from all strife, he walked the path of peace,
With God his refuge, granting calm release;
And perhaps today he feels the nearing hour
Of rightful rest, beyond the need of power.

Yet still the will to act within him burns,
And rest feels bitter as the spirit yearns;
He longs to build, to hope, to still extend,
To see beyond, and never meet an end.

For nothing done on earth is ever lost,
When soul is turned toward the higher cost;
And step by step, through each devoted day,
He draws in silence toward the Father’s way.

RASAMINDRAKOTROKA Andry Tiana
29 June 2025
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