If you and I should chance to meet,
I guess you wouldn't care;
I'm sure you'd pass me in the street
As if I wasn't there;
You'd never look me in the face,
My modest mug to scan,
Because I'm just a commonplace
And Ordinary Man.
But then, it may be, you are too
A guy of every day,
Who does the job he's told to do
And takes the wife his pay;
Who makes a home and kids his care,
And works with pick or pen. . . .
Why, Pal, I guess we're just a pair
Of Ordinary Men.
We plug away and make no fuss,
Our feats are never crowned;
And yet it's common coves like us
Who make the world go round.
And as we steer a steady course
By God's predestined plan,
Hats off to that almighty Force:
THE ORDINARY MAN.
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Robert Service
From guest Gene Koch (contact)
My favorites by Service are this one, The Men Who Don't Fit In, and Yellow. -
Not Ordinary Man (Robert Service)
Your legacy of words construe
A mind in keen array,
An asset shared alone by few,
For me - they point the way!
I take those tales, you wrote with flair
Revise to now - from then,
A student of a debonair -
Not ordinary man!
Some turn away, with mere disgust
When verse is rhymed with sound;
They feel the sense is lost to lust
And miss the flow profound.
I run from this repulsive force
Of short attention span,
Your works, for me, the best of course -
Not ordinary man!
If you and I, by chance, could meet,
I’d hope you stay and share;
Ensure this lass, you’re truly sweet
And wise beyond compare;
You’d see beyond this mortal place
Where life for you began,
Then span that gap with Godly grace -
Not ordinary man!
© 2008 Joy A. Burki-Watson
http://allpoetry.com/poem/4477075 -
I have only just found Robert Service and I am knocked out by his skill and perception as well as with his "always entertaining" element. Magical.
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appealing write... the way it is held as a conversation with the readers...
recognising and reinforcing... a mundane world of common men... -
Excellent
"It is not necessary to do great works ... just do little works with great love." - Mother Teresa.
Not everyone can be extraordinary on earth, but to God we are ALL extraordinary - and it's the ordinary people who make the world run day to day. A very thought provoking poem. -
Great write
Well Service was no ordinary poet in spite of writing this "The Ordinary Man". There are no awkward areas for me. I think "And" ordinary man relates better to what Service was aiming for here. -
I enjoyed reading this and can well identify with it oh yes and hats off to ordinary ahem persons
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An extra-Ordinary poem.
John-Las Vegas, Nevada -
I always feel in the usage of 'And' Ordinary Man.' that 'And' should be 'An' maybe they are just variants. But, I feel 'An' reads better.
Simple piece. Simple yet good. And another message, tho, a bit empty I feel.
Not on my part, but, others.
Anyways, another good piece by Service. I quite enjoyed reading this one aloud.
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