I knew a good man
And if I’m right about that,
And accounting for the fact that
Most of us are rather messy and prickly
And inconsistent in various ways,
He was a good man indeed.
And you could tell it by the way he
Treated people.
And it strikes me now as odd to have so little further
To say about him,
Except that it seems to me I have
Already said that very greatest thing
That could be said about him.
Haven’t I?
So it hardly seemed worth mentioning
That he was funny
And that he cooked the best breakfasts ever
And took me fishing.
He was a good man
And that did something
To my fledgling years
To get me started in a certain direction myself,
Valuing such things
And finding a treasure
In a life many others
Might count as of little merit
In the grand scheme of things.
But I wonder if I have not noticed
The most important thing of all
And cherished it in my heart,
Where it can really matter the most
For the best reasons.
