Poem: "A Ballad for Tommy Douglas"

[ysabetwordsmith]

Here is the freebie poem for today's Poetry Fishbowl on the topic of civics/politics. glitteringlynx posted a prompt about this Canadian figure. I don't often write about other people's national heroes, but it's an invigorating stretch. How well do you think I did?

A Ballad for Tommy Douglas

Once when Canada needed a man
Who could light the way into tomorrow,
Up stepped young Tommy Douglas, a fan
Of the people, whatever their sorrow.

He observed want and struggle and war,
And yet none of that once made him falter.
He believed in democracy’s lore …
He just thought that it needed a halter.

He believed that good health was a right,
Not a privilege for some but not others;
That it’s better to share than to fight
Over handouts to children and mothers.

He thought charging too much wasn’t fair,
So he got public health care well started,
And let others go onward from there.
He was nothing if not gallant-hearted.

He made social democracy too -
Such a combo, a balance, a blending -
That we’re still learning what it can do
In the way of rebirth and of mending.

He’s the Greatest Canadian yet
And he’s worthy of calling a hero,
So the chance that we’ll ever forget
Is a figure that comes close to zero.