What Did he leave?

What Did He Leave?

(for Paul Callery, son of Bobo)

What did he leave but a rusting nail On a wind-tuned door where he hung his coat; And a boat that never bore a sail, And a bodhrán made from the last wild goat.

A smile as bright as a new steel pin That you wear, the very same as him; And that courtesy, so quiet and low, The stooping back that you carry so.

Chorus — No one ever left his side Who did not know that the world was wide And did not know that the heart was true; These are the things he left to you:

Song and story, laughter, pain, These he bequeath you, and your name. Bear them proudly, as he did He the father, you “the kid!”

What did he leave? they may well ask. A stubborn streak, and an eye so true, And the hands that mastered every task; Tell them this, if they should ask.

Chorus — No one ever left his side Who did not know that the world was wide And did not know that the heart was true; These are the things he left to you.

— © Frank Callery, May 27th 2016.