HONEST MAN

"Have you ever met an honest man?"
"Perhaps."

Perhaps he's standing over there
That curly-headed idealist
Wrestling with odds
Seeming indomitable with self-belief
Demanding justice at whatever price
Never questioning his rightness
Not doubting his Cause
Optimistic
Stubborn to the end -
An honest man?
Perhaps.

He would not know
My shadowed world.
Tough wits, callous luck
Living for the day, the week,
the year
For myself, my pride, my conscience.
No Causes, nor time for them
Irrelevant luxuries
Of unreal dreamers,
Not survivors.
But is this dreamer real?
Forget the Cause - what of the man?
People are more real than Causes.
Would I follow
this honest man?
Perhaps -
Yes.

-- Kathryn Andersen