February 18, 2020
Dear Subscriber:
Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of
view. The theme for this week is politics, in honor of Presidents Day, which
this year was celebrated on February 17.
I welcome comments on my poems at
http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com .
A poem for George Washington’s Birthday in which Washington
reflects on the effects of leadership on his life:
Greatness is effect far more than cause.
Each hero is the servant of his fate,
On whom is laid the sacrificial weight
Reserved for those who would heed higher laws.
Given peace, I would have shunned applause,
Electing to remain a farmer, great
With long-gestating plans for my estate,
A much-loved labor lost to much-loathed wars.
So was I the father of a nation,
Having given over life and love,
Instrument of some far greater hand,
Not by choice but of necessity.
Glory was the means by which to fashion
The myth that would a king's replacement prove:
Only I would do, and that demand
Narrowed, deepened, scoured, chastened me.
© by Nicholas Gordon
If you enjoyed this poem, please like, comment on, or share
it so that it might be seen and enjoyed by others. To see this poem on my site,
go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/greatn.html.
For more poems for George Washington’s Birthday, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/presidentsdaypoems.html
.
This week’s theme: Politics
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