2/2/11

Today, I happened to receive somebody else’s mail,

And for a moment, self-deceived, I spun a wild tale,

In which I was another man whose lifetime was repressed,

Peculiar aims, career, and plans. Another home address.

Strange friends and odd acquaintances, apart from all I knew,

Fresh memories, experience, bizarre beliefs and views.

My soul began to drift away, yet then my heart recalled,

The joy and love which fills my days, this man knew not at all.

And so I tossed it in the pail, this other life I missed.

My doppelganger lost his mail, why should this man get his?

2/1/11

To hear you changed the world might make you laugh,

You’d wave your hand and scoff dismissively.

But all the things you did on our behalf,

Have truly changed the course of history.

The love you freely gave in life has grown,

Between your loved ones and your closest friends.

Your children’s children pass it to their own,

And it continues onward without end.

Your spirit and your humor live in those,

Who knew you in their hearts and keep you still.

All faith and strength we find within us shows,

The life which you inspire and always will.

How many words of wisdom, kind and just?

How many acts of goodness have transpired?

How much has fate been changed by each of us,

In emulation of one so admired?

You changed the world, so simply- yet divine.

I know this to be true, for you changed mine.