Jonathan King: (Frank Clemente)

Not writing a poem since grade school

It seems like an odd time to restart

I take the risk of looking like a fool

But instead I think I’m quite smart

You see Jonathan King is a remarkable man

Deeply respected by us all

For his sense of justice and peace did and can

Serve as a beacon quite tall

His golden tongue and that toothy grin

Could charm the socks off a right winger

Just be careful what you ask of Jonathan

You know he is not a very good singer

Few among us have so dedicated our lives

To bettering the lot of the many

You worked untold hours as a volunteer

So others could have good and plenty

Your keen intellect is as sharp as a tack

Your political instincts uncanny

There was no one else who had such a knack

To be a leader of so very many

Your modesty was legend your gumption a smash

No task was too menial for you

Whether licking envelopes or asking donors for cash

We all secretly emulated you too

Jobs with Peace you said, who could argue with that,

Surely not the average man on the street

Alas, cowering politicians known as Democrats

Were afraid of the Ronald Reagan induced heat

Your generosity of spirit and guiding light

Touched many a close colleague and activist

The way you tirelessly took on the good fight

Left us wondering is he really such a pacifist?

You are the nearest to what I call a mentor my friend

More profound than Jesse Jackson, John Conyers, Paul Wellstone who I worked for and with

You are in a class by yourself having set a great trend

Of touching the lives of so many big and small