When the time came
To watch them lower him down,
Forever to be comforted by the warm soil;
We three stood like stern statues,
Our fierce scowls of manhood
Forcing back tears of grief.
He had raised us never to show weakness,
That men did not cry.
We, like standing stones
Sweltered in the grip of new suits
And stared with uncertainty into that open grave
And into our futures, our brave new worlds.
We realised with trepidation and bewilderment
That we no longer had his dominant guidance,
That our time had come to be men.
For some reason, as I stood there
My fear left me to be replaced by his legacy;
His spirit.