Human Fidelity Poem by Francis Duggan

A wrinkled old lady over eighty in years
At the thought of her long deceased husband she feels moved to tears
The father and grandfather of her family as a great man in her words she portray
Though few who knew him does agree with what of him she does say

That he used to beat her after going home from the pub at night
Often leaving her with bruises on her boday and a face that looked a sorry sight
Yet she did remain with him until his life's end
Her fidelity is that of a four legged friend

Not the type of man a widow should remember with pride
But the person he really was in her words she tries to hide
Those who knew him and the type of person he was quite well
Of him have quite a different story to tell

Call this repressed memory or call it what you may
But of the husband who often bashed her she only has nice things to say
And in her words she will praise him for as long as she will live
In truth she cannot forgive if she feels she has nothing to forgive

Every time she talks of her dead husband there are tears in her eyes
And this to those who knew the man will never cease to surprise
Such fidelity for their masters in dogs one always does find
But it is quite a rare trait in the human kind.