Poesy In Service of Strength -- January 20, 1961

Eight inches of snow saw no hat on his head an act of derring-do, my father said, He ascended the steps the eyes of the world upon him An orator attacking the lectern ~ Camelot, out to shatter Babylon The glare of the sun no match for the glint in his eye Brisk winds no challenge to the stylish coif he held high. He measured the moment took a deep breath Out came an aria ~ nary a shibboleth Tall and straight, he stood erect as a soldier firing words like bullets targeting the mind's heart, to pull it jabbing the air with his fist or his finger pausing ever so briefly ~ he let the message linger He moved us, he touched us, lifted a nation's heart without sham or deceit ~ only truth from his lips did ever depart He proposed the Peace Corps to inspire the young-- For those older and wiser he combined graciousness with toughness in a diplomatic sharp-edged tongue To Nikita Krushchev, the Soviet, baring his claws, Our leader's barbed-wire message surely gave pause: "Let us remember... ...sincerity is always subject to proof Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate." And to all 180 million Americans watching in person or on the tube ~ He issued this challenge destiny ringing, resonant rendezvous: "Ask not what your country can do for you ask what you can do for your country." It's now 55 years later and America's not seen a President like Kennedy ~ to inspire us to dream