“It behooves you, therefore, to think and act for yourself and your people. The great principles of right and wrong are legible to every reader; to pursue them requires not the aid of many counselors. The whole art of government consists in the art of being honest. Only aim to do your duty, and mankind will give you credit where you fail.” – Thomas Jefferson (1775)
It took a lifetime to forge The humility of Gentleman George With his best fights fought on his knees He is God's child and aims to please
Once a lion, then a lamb, in doing all things He only gave his second best inside the ring Living his life with the truest humility Teaching us all by his example of dignity
An Olympian gold medal made him proud As he carried the American flag before the crowd With an amateur record of 22 to four Gentleman George took might to the floor
Down went Frazier in the Sunshine Showdown Jamaica gave this giant his victory crown Punch after punch, this one-sided bout Showed the world what Gentleman George was about
Until two giants met in a formidable rumble Somewhere inside the Zairian capital's jungle And though they fought with determined brutality In the end, they became friends with humility
But that fight will live on as among the best When two fighters met their very toughest test Until circumstances allowed a rope-a-dope strategy Carried by Muhammed Ali to become something legendary
After in the locker room, George came to near-death Pleading that God show mercy as he feared his last breath He then dedicated his life to Jesus and was born again Where he found the God he had never known as a friend
After ten years, he broke for boxing in a return tour Proving a man can still pack a punch after he matures Pushing for a comeback despite a lot of nervous tension Trading blows for blows made him the champion of the shows
The former heavyweight met Moorer with deep tenacity That was an attestation as to why George is legendary Though it's true that he never fought Mike Tyson The bets are on as to who would have finally won
All in all, Gentleman George's life stands tall It's a story and a legend that time will always recall Of a boxer who knew his best was outside that ring Where the true man gives the very best he can bring
(c) August 31, 2023 Michael Doyle All Rights Reserved
“Many people take no care of their money till they come nearly to the end of it, and others do just the same with their time.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, poet, dramatist, novelist, and philosopher (28 Aug 1749-1832)
Childhood friendship felt legendary It was elevated like a sacred entity As we engraved our initials in our minds Certain we'd never leave it behind
Playing games and sometimes wasting time Helped us come across the better rhymes That became the memories held in glory On behalf of our lives best stories
Faith in our small talk divulged our feelings All the all-too-important senses sent reeling As we created our culture and formed our bonds Surfing at the beaches and fishing in ponds
All grown up into our everyday round of doubts Sometimes, a heart wonders what happened to hangouts Unhurried with nowhere to go but imaginative play That made time far too short in our summer days
Even as adults, we can all use some time to play Bringing those memories forward into life today The theatrical sense of golden moments of affirmation Creatively spill out as friendship's confirmation
The radical privilege of killing time creates connection Like one last adolescent rebellion given invitation Riffs lead one to another, expecting the unexpected To allow our minds to unwind and our hearts not be neglected
Some have tried to give exuberance a sort of bad name But doing this is to forget childhood and be quite lame There on the pages that write themselves into history Are the rituals that form into their needed complexity
And through this complexity comes a deep understanding That provides perspective and, in life, becomes commanding Providing emotional depth that may have started off a lark But becomes something that leaves its genuine, heartfelt mark
(c) August 30, 2023 Michael Doyle All Rights Reserved
Heading out of Australia to escape this Aussie winter. First stop Japan, then UK/Ireland and if work doesn't call me back, onto Chicago. I will make it up as I go along
