WHEN a man becomes a hero all the world is standing round, In waiting for a chance to share his glory. From shore to shore innumerable voices will resound, All eager to add something to the story. "We used to know him in his youth!" "We said he was a wonder!" "He was a genius; that's the truth. You couldn't keep him under!" "He was the catcher on our nine!" "His sharpness beat the weasel's." "That six-foot oldest boy of mine From him once caught the measles!" And the anecdotes come rushing, in bewildering array, From folk of every station and complexion, For there's always ambition, which no wisdom can allay, To revel in some brilliant man's reflection. "His family we've visited!" "We were his next-door neighbors!" "Kind words of hope we've often said To cheer him at his labors!" "My father told him he might call On our folks to assist him!" And (loudest chorus of them all) "We are the girls who've kissed him." | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE VILLAGE BLACKSMITH by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW THE NIGHTINGALE by PHILIP SIDNEY THE LORDS OF THE MAIN by JOSEPH STANSBURY POPULAR BALLAD: NEVER FORGET YOUR PARENTS by FRANKLIN PIERCE ADAMS FAREWELL TO THE PILGRIMS by THEODORE M. BAKKE THE TIMES by ANNA LETITIA BARBAULD |