portrait of a thirty-year-old orphan
for thirty years he found his way
from one place to the next
accepted by contemporaries
and admired for his insistence
on making the world a better place
orphaned at the age of three
he left his birthplace Latrobe
with a motherless family of five
his adoptive father
a tanner turned farmer
staking a claim in eastern Iowa
though a member of no church
his views on nature reflected
the good there is in man
all the while exercising charity
and condemning none
wherever he worked
innovation soon followed
his adventurous spirit a godsend
to each community he served
though illness plagued him
wherever he traveled
he never murmured nor complained
boldly facing the inevitable
crossing the dark waters
with a firm reliance
on mercy and love and destiny
december two thousand eighteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserve
