To whom it may return,
I know you as the man
who learned
me better than myself
And pulled me off this crooked shelf

I knew you as the tall hero from the back pages
Of books you lent that I never finished

But that will never diminish
The quiet strength I felt in you
In this one-time show, this crazy zoo,

There's a temperance
A certain devotion that you
Inspire
To all that's true
And higher

© Copyright David Bosworth July 2021