Classic Poem

So he stood, a man among us:
He the fearless, he the friendly;
He whose genius was in service;
More than king because a brother;
More than conqueror in his love.

'Twas away out on the Moorland
That we found his fittest image:
Rose a solid mass of granite,
All aglow with hues of sunset,
Robed as if in richest purple,
Crowned as if with purest gold;
Softened was it by the mosses,
Softened by the patch of lichen;
High above it rang the lark's song;
And around it flew the swallow;
And about it clung the ivy;
And within the cleft a flower bell
Found a home and nourishment;
Deeper in its heart a wild bird
Had her brood all snugly sheltered,
Safely hidden in the nest.

So he stood: a man among us.
Solid, settled, made of granite,
Yet aglow with summer sunshine.
His the beauty and the sweetness
Of a gentleness unfailing;
Trusty, tender; deep within him
A great love whose joy was service,
Love that was a strength and refuge.
Most a man because a brother;
Most a saint because a servant;
Most divine because all human;
Full of sunshine and of song.