A poem, by Sen. Robert Byrd..

[brooklynite]

No, he didn't write it, but I had the opportunity to meet him and hear him recite (from memory, at age 88) this poem by Gilbert Chesterton, which I think aptly capture his view of the role of Government...

I watched them tearing a building down,

A gang of men in a busy town.

With a heave and a ho and a might yell,

They swung a crane and a sidewall fell.



I asked the foreman, “Are these men as skilled

As the men you hire when you have to build?”

He gave me a laugh and said, “No, indeed!

Just common labor is all I need.

I can easily wreck in a day or two

What builders have taken a year to do.”



And I thought to myself as I went my way,

Which of these roles have I tried to play?

Am I a builder who works with care,

Measuring life with a ruler and square?



Am I shaping my deeds by a well-laid plan,

Patiently doing the best I can?

Or am I a wrecker who walks the town,

Content with the labor of tearing down?

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. We will never see his like again...

[earcandle]

2. He is a role model for me, and I am sure others.

[bahrbearian]

3. That says alot about us.