He had a fist
that could stun an Ox
and a smile
that women could walk upon.
Mothers frightened their children
with tales of his wildness;
beyond earshot bigger men
threatened to lay him out.
He never punched a time-clock
nor wore a watch.
Dogs liked him
Parish priests did not;
his freedom was a bad example.
Only beauty could make him weep,
pain he absorbed
until it overflowed
and anger took the place of tears.
It tornadoed out of him
and sometimes
blew away a friend or two.
He could make an idiot
feel like a king,
and a learned man
feel like a fool.
He knew each bird by its song
and each man by his eyes
and in melancholy mood would croon
" Eyes tell no lies."
People said he was:
Mad; bad; a genius; afool;
a philanthropist; a philanderer;
a hero; a coward; a lover; a hater.
He was just a man.
No one remembers him now
he disappeared some time ago.
But I thought of him this morning
as I straightened my tie in the mirror.
~~Aidan Sharkey 1995
PS. It is not Christmas but I thought of him this morning again.
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