All I need is a few words:
words that will tell somehow
of a life of thoughtful kindness.
‘Who will be captain now?’
Who will guide and keep us,
driven by no spoken vow;
place a hand upon our shoulders?
‘Who will be captain now?’
How can we measure and tell
the complex life of this man:
the acts of a lifelong captain?
Well,
only our memories can.
John Stevens
15 January, 2013 at 8:49 am
This is magnificent. It’s obviously a moving tribute to a much loved man, but the lines work so well, with such economy and precision, and spot-on-appropriateness, that they provide the perfect expression of feelings for many other people. I love the simplicity of “Who will be captain now?” and “only our memories can”.
I also greatly appreciate the preceding short poem.
When my own father died it took me months to write three poems in response and I can remember the difficulty in trying to judge the right tone and mood.
JdUb
15 January, 2013 at 9:11 am
Thank you very much, John, for these kind words.