A Very Good Man
Thomas Merton Brightman
(All rights reserved)

Oh My!
A time to cry
Friend just gone
Mentor Phil

Happenstance tutor
To uninitiated, bright, young man
Saw the difficultly for me to function
Burdened by intrinsic dysfunction

Cast by Fate
Into a corporate cauldron
Liked for what I can do
Not for who I am

Wall Street grabbed me first
As handy ‘PSD’
Poor, Smart, Driven’
Their vision of money right off the tee

Phil glimpsed my forte
Though stymied by style
Unvarnished naiveté
Innocent smile

Ripe with good intention
Was
As the saying
Own worst enemy

Still growing into a man
Took incorrigible, insistent stands
Raw relational pretension
Manufactured moments of dissention

Rest in peace, Phil
You built upon my best
So much late-in-life awareness
Began with your insight and assist

He lived a good life
For his family and friends
We are all better for Phil
A very good man