Poem of the Week
for
Veterans' Day
November 11, 2005
He was an 'lectrician,
Worked hard at this trade;
At huntin' and fishin'
In his leisure he played.
He loved the high mountains,
He loved the swift streams
Where Nature's pure fountains
Are as lovely as dreams.
He left without warning
At the top of his stride---
My heart went into mourning
The day that he died.
He sailed the high seas
When duty did call,
And soon our enemies
Were sick of it all.
He loved the great ocean
But was glad to come home
Said "I've got a notion
Now never to roam."
He left without warning,
So swift was the blow---
My heart is in mourning
Wherever I go.
He was loving and kind,
He had friends by the score;
When a stranger he'd find
He would make one more.
His friends they were legion,
He was known far and wide,
And grief filled the region
The day that he died.
He left without warning,
Struck down in his prime---
My heart is in mourning
The rest of my time.
--Rufus L. Porter
From The Fiddler from Wilson Creek and
Other Western Ballads by Rufus L. Porter.
Copyright (c) 1954, Rufus L. Porter. Used
with permission of Norma Porter Enders.
