Gravestone Found Near Boston Dated 1920 (“The Last Hero”)

To an American two generations hence,
You, who my face will never see,
Nor my presence nor love sense.
I bid you well and I bid you be.

Like you, I loved a woman’s hand,
And treated each with much respect,
I, too, prayed to God for my land,
And every night and day, He blessed.

And I too knew my faults and flaws,
And writhed long the Scriptured page,
Like you, I stared at Nature’s awe,
And a family held, birthed, and made.

Yes. I must be just like you, my son,
An American, but eighty years removed,
Live your life well – as you have done,
That is all I ask of you.

Privileges

There are privileges of beauty,
There are privileges You bestow,
And if I could live until eternity,
The differences I’d never know.

For the birds which wing away,
Are dressed with cloth You rolled –
How lovely they fly in the day,
And in the night are never cold.