Hoàng

Show me a man with love to spare,

His heart too full for mortal itch;

He who Lucifer need forswear,

For live in him is Glory’s pitch.

Show me a man with wisdom sound,

Known not by folly nor by vice;

One whose counsel years redound,

To mend the rent a trice suffice.

Show me a man with wit unmatched,

A quip from whom pales sharpest sword;

Someone followed by laughs unlatched,

Company’s joy is his inward.

Show me a man with mind for want,

Who thirsts of reason e’er more;

In him is learning, save all vaunt,

Yes, e’en that from days of yore.

Show me a man with virtue yet,

A person true to God and own;

Any for whom by test is whet,

Worthy this life, ere the unknown.

Show me a man with this in full,

Love, wisdom, mind, wit, and virtue,

And him to my breast I will pull,

For he is Hoàng, my father too.

Dedication:

To Hoàng, the man who helped show me what godly manhood is.