He was adept at conveying benevolent feelings listeners wanted to share, that could lead to benevolent actions. In the speeches he gave in the wake of mass killings he seemed in his element. Not only in Newtown but Aurora, Fort Hood, in Tucson and after the marathon bombing grief-counselling the bereft homeowners and local officials granting funds in the aftermath of recent hurricanes He delivered compassion with kind face from a decorous yet understated height. That seemed to be the role he liked to play on the world stage too. Doubtless it was the posture he’d have preferred for the Spring, or for that matter the civil war if only the stubborn leader had obeyed when he said it was time to go They said he had a wish to help that was larger-spirited than any of his predecessors though caution bordering on timidness kept him from speaking with Carter just once. He rooted for the good cause but ended up endorsing the acceptable on which the satisfied have always agreed. Watching over our world, he was its most benevolent spectator. - from A MORE PERFECT UNION: A SERIAL POEM (forthcoming)
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