The Reaper Claimed Him Early Poem by Francis Duggan

He never beat his children he never bashed his wife
The honest hard working fellow he lived a decent life
But now he is with Nature and his bones at rest now lay
The honest hard working fellow they buried him today.

His wife and their son and daughter they wept at his grave-side
But when their grief will have subsided they can look back with pride
To a loving husband and good father who for them did his best
Of what it takes to make a good person he surely passed that test.

Only in his mid fifties a youngish age to die
The reaper claimed him early a younger man than I
For each of us a last day and on us all a use by date
And the hands of time keep turning and time on anyone does not wait.

He had a few drinks after work but at most three or four
Just to see his wife and children be happy his wish and nothing more
That was his greatest joy in life to be a good family man
And fifty five seems young to die his was not a lengthy span.

He had been ill for six months and he sought medical advice too late
The cancer it had spread too far for him only one fate
An end that was painful and slow he fought death all the way
But the reaper never fails to win they buried him today.