Henry Is Gone... Poem by RIC BASTASA

my cousin Henry
is gone
he just died today

he was once a soldier
and once boasted about
the bad elements which
he killed
somewhere in the mountains
which he could
remember fully well

he said he fought against
the rebels
arrested thieves and
encountered the kidnappers

he retired with debts
which he refused to pay
saying he hates usurers
but he got and used the money)

i am not saying that he is
bad, there is something good
in him too,
the frailties of humanity
the valor of soldiery
and the softness of a father
as he could be

now he is gone
attended by his two soldier sons
and an accountant daughter
who also had families of their
own

the widow is mourning
and crying as i extended my
deepest sympathies

his mother once said
Henry to him was a king.