In Memoriam

My father taught me how to stand
In the shadow of an upright man
My father taught me how to walk
To take the pathway that I ought
My father taught me when to bend
And when to stop and call an end
My father taught me how to work
To strive and toil and never shirk
My father taught me how to laugh
To see in sad times something daft
To make me smile was his bequest
And this, of all he left, is best