quite possibly the prettiest poem i've read in a long time
Bea and Orv, Orv and Bea
when my uncle orv died
i wrote my aunt bea a brief note of condolence,
i mentioned, truthfully, that everyone
who know orv had loved him.
bea wrote back that orv had been more ill
than he know for a long time
and was lucky to have his suffering cut short.
she also said that, in over forty years,
she could say, in absolute honesty,
that he had never spoken a harsh word to her.
because i knew him, and because i knew her,
i can believe it.
and if you think i'm working up to
some cynical punch-line you're wrong.
only a greater fool than i
would direct sarcasm at a man who found
a woman as excellent as he deserved,
and who realized it,
and who let her know by everything he said and did
she was appreciated,
and who, through his appreciation,
sustained her in that excellence
with which she sustained him.
-gerald locklin
when my uncle orv died
i wrote my aunt bea a brief note of condolence,
i mentioned, truthfully, that everyone
who know orv had loved him.
bea wrote back that orv had been more ill
than he know for a long time
and was lucky to have his suffering cut short.
she also said that, in over forty years,
she could say, in absolute honesty,
that he had never spoken a harsh word to her.
because i knew him, and because i knew her,
i can believe it.
and if you think i'm working up to
some cynical punch-line you're wrong.
only a greater fool than i
would direct sarcasm at a man who found
a woman as excellent as he deserved,
and who realized it,
and who let her know by everything he said and did
she was appreciated,
and who, through his appreciation,
sustained her in that excellence
with which she sustained him.
-gerald locklin