Gone, But Not Forgotten
I thought the obituary surly lied.
How could Charlie have ever died?
I felt like crying, but tears wouldn’t come.
Way back, Charlie and I had so much fun.
Charlie was the kind of guy
who would take any dare, come do or die.
He did tons of crazy things.
Yet, he was never hurt. He earned his wings.
He had his way with the women too.
He scored with twice the girls as me & you.
He had a line that wouldn’t quit.
The women went for every bit of it.
He was the class clown in school.
He perfected the part of being the fool.
Charlie stood tall. A man among men.
A real hero, again and again.
We probably have all known a ‘Charlie.’
Somewhere back in our iniquity.
A guy with similar traits.
A guy who rarely made mistakes.
He married the most popular girl in school.
I wish she would have carried my books too.
He did his hitch in the Army.
Had an honorable discharge , then started farming.
He came to every school reunion.
The hearts of the girls he would soon win.
A guy like him always came out on top.
He would say: “Make the most of what you’ve got.”
He did that all his life, till that day
they found something that wouldn’t go away.
A deadly disease took him down.
What a way to put an end to the class clown.
He loved life to the fullest.
He’ll be remembered, I know it.
His oldest boy is just like him.
He might as well have been his twin.
As chance would have it, his name is Charlie too.
Of course, he is close to me and you.
Through him Charlie lives on.
Sometimes it’s almost like he was never gone.
—————————————————-R. W. Johnson—–(2015)