For someone who has been true
To the task of life’s travesty
Where the will to see things through
By a man of fortitude and delicacy
Who knows how to be honest, to be kind
To earn a little and spend a little less,
To make a family happier for his presence,
To keep friends without capitulation
And sooner settle for the ‘less’
Renounce with no bitterness;
To keep mind and body in good health
And above all, to keep friends with himself.
July 2007 (adapted from RLS)