And The Man Wearing The White Cassock, Poem by RIC BASTASA

and so there was this old picture,
we were five, she said, i was the thorn among the roses,

i thought i was one impressive guy, tall, slim, aquiline nose,
well built, thick black hair, and so on and so forth,

and then the priest beside us, forgot me, and asked
the lady at the extreme right, ' who is that stranger? '

what came into my mind was Albert, i love that strange man, who had a cue for strangeness,

he bumped his car against the wall and killed himself.
gee, that was impressive of him.

and he is always remembered. And the man
wearing the white cassock, o never forget even

if he did not know his name, where he lived, and where
and when he died. Ah, what courage!