In Tribute to Rudyard Kipling

I hail your words they pierce my brain
They touch my very soul
They linger like a bold refrain
They show me a true goal.

They reach the limits of intention
And then they push beyond
They cling with artful unpretension
Like an eternal bond.

Inspiration is the gift from those
Who shrink away from noise
And find that poetry and prose
Are beauty style and poise.

No Olympian ever ran as fast
As one who filled each minute
With sixty seconds worth of distance run
In measured strides that win it.

May we find peace at Heaven’s door
When we have won the prize
And there inscribed are your wise words—
“Don’t look too good nor talk too wise.”

You graced our shores with wisdom
You mocked defeat here as you ran
We’ll not find you among the kings
But with the common man.