the mud, and the stars

truth at a funeral?

at a funeral how much should the whole person be remembered?

or conversely, should only the laudatory find expression,

as the loss beats hard at us?

what leaps at me is the wholeness, which includes the flaws,

I seek to tally up the positives, and the negatives, 

to understand how victories were won,

and what led to the losses,

all within the holistic context of a self

striving to do good,

striving to do well,

it is even more impressive to me

to know what sought to hold one down

and then to see how high a person could still rise,

the distance from the mud to the stars deserves praise,

the question is just when the mud should be acknowledged.

by Henry H. Walker

September 30, ‘16