On The Death Of A Friend Poem by Francis Duggan

By sense of loss I now feel moved to tears
And I have not felt so sad as this for years
And deeper, deeper cuts the mental knife
Since work mate he gave up his gift of life.

A workmate and a good and trusting friend
And the way he died how can one comprehend
And all of his work mates miss him from work place
And I feel haunted by a dead friend's face.

It was a desperate choice he chose to make
And his wife and children suffer the heart break
And I dare not even try to understand
How one can choose to die at his own hand.

To a higher principle the man was true
And all of us had great respect for Lew
And we laughed when he showed us his humorous side
And his many jokes I thoroughly enjoyed.

He laughed and joked with us all through friday
And five days later gave his life away
And still we miss him from the working place
And I feel haunted by a dead friend's face.