By Frank C. Francis (1931)
His shoes are worn and down-at-heel but clean;
His clothes show signs of care tho' old and mean;
His step is firm but tired. As he walks
The faintest limp is seen; yet still he smiles
And there is an air about him, when he talks.
Of cheery courage and undaunted hope,
He has no time to grovel or to mope,
Nor takes delight in conning o'er the miles—
The weary miles of saddening negatives
That leave their imprint on his lined face.
The facts of life to him are concrete things,
With humor yet appearing 'mid the stings.
And he has a pride that, -while his spirit lives.
Disdains despair and scorns to bare his woes
Unto a curious world, for well he knows
That soon 'twill set another in his place,
And then sweep on its way with a hard, irreverent tread.
His many trials forgotten and his very memory dead.
‘Fanuela’ (Frank C. Francis) The Daily Standard, Brisbane, 19 August 1931.