Before They Had Anything Else To Offer Poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar

One knowing how to spell it,
Does not mean the definition is felt!
Comprehending the value,
Is much more a benefit than explaining its use.
An intellectual can bore.
A common man lives it!
However...
If there is none of it around,
And if it's only found on lips...
The prerequisite of it does not exist.
And today 'integrity' seems to sit,
As something reminisced
By those who actually remember
A time when it was taken for granted...
And everyone had it first,
'Before' they had anything else to offer!