Curtis Johnson Poet Narrative

Endurance, A Little Tale

They are strong and well-made men,
Designed to be finishers and not quitters.
Presently, two such men permeate my mind;
Men of strong character and high principles.

Two Henrys  attended a small country church.
One Henry was a farmer; the other a pastor.
Henry the farmer died in 1996; the other is 85
And will soon be retiring after pastoring 42 years.
Were Henry the farmer still alive, he would be 113.

I fondly remember some 50 years ago, I had neither father, uncle,
nor close friend; but at his home along a country road surrounded by
fields of cotton, corn, and beans, Henry the farmer and I sat and talked
for hours on many Saturday afternoons. He and his wife Alice were
hard workers, raising 14 boys and girls in addition to raising cotton,
corn, beans, chickens, cows, pigs, sugar cane, and bountiful gardens.

Henry the pastor also worked hard building churches, leading people,
teaching, preaching, marrying couples, dedicating babies, baptizing,
Dispensing knowledge, wisdom, and inspiration.   We never talked a lot,
but I've listened to lots of wisdom flowing from his fine sermons.

Neither Henry understood the meaning of the word 'quit'.  In a word,
from Henry the farmer, I learned the meaning of the word, 'ENDURANCE'.
In a word, from Henry the pastor, I learned the meaning of the word, 'ENDURANCE'.

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