TO ROMAN REED ON HIS BIRTHDAY
Among all the boys in all the world, if I could pick my son,
There is no question in my mind, who would be the one.
I would want someone handsome, athletic and tall,
With hazel-green eyes, and muscles not small.
He would have to be a dreamer, for only dreamers win;
And with the confidence to take risks, a self-belief deep within.
He would take the daily effort, plain and simple work,
For that is how true greatness happens, the chores we cannot shirk.
He would need a sense of humor, a love of laughter like his Dad,
And it would not hurt if he like me had a sense that the world was mad.
He would be a cheerful talker, the way his mother is,
And stand for his constituency, the way no other is.
Above all, he would need courage, to resist the winds of strife,
If I could find such a miracle son, I would love him all his life.
I did—and I do—Happy Birthday, my son.
Don C. Reed
January 18, 2016