Sunday, August 1, 2021
Ode for Arthur Pretty*
How do you sum it all up
For a long life wished longer?
Add up all the accomplishments?
Awards + papers + positions.
Equaling what?
Countable things.
Better to add the things that matter:
Who he loved and
Who loved him.
Equaling what?
Uncountable things.
A metaphor …
I played ping-pong against Arthur Pretty
Many times.
I had better serves, faster slams, trickier spins
And always lost.
It was like playing against a brick wall.
You will be greatly missed.
You left the world a little better.
What better legacy can there be?
*: Since I am also an Arthur, when I visited, to distinguish us, Anita would call me Artie (which no one else calls me), and her husband Arthur Pretty. Pretty fitting …
