Great Man

Dedicated to Uncle Steve Kepros of Iowa, USA

I wish I had Gibran's hand
to write you lovely verses
or Emerson's deep thoughts
to make you a dedication
or the Grimms' imagination
to tell you a fairytale.

But I have only my heart
with which I am to write
about you, great man.

I know you hid your sword
for the sake of peace
you burned your cape for good
and never rode that horse again.
But once a great man
always a great man
and you cannot hide it
from the rest of the world
because your actions have betrayed you
and you are great, man-
without a horse, a sword or a cape.

I know you kept your books locked
and buried some miles beneath
you never talked about E=MC2
or the theory of relativity again.
But once a great man
always a great man
and you can't escape it
because all the world knew
your deeds have defined you
and you are great, man-
science need not tell us so.

I know you sold your masterpieces
oh! those wondrous works of art!
wrote the best plays under a pen name
and traded poems for a little wine.
But once a great man
always a great man
and you can't get away from it
because the world have seen
how great you've been
and you are great, man-
without a palette or a pen.

And all I just wanna say is
great men don't always have
swords in hand
they can do without chemistry
physics or trigonometry
never write a kid's story
never learn to paint at all.

But a great man is a great man
and he cannot hide
because the light from his heart
will brighten up the world.
And you are great, man-
your light has shone on me.