From the Evening Star, February 17, 1914. By Philander Johnson.
Are there any hero medals applied for up to date?
Is there one to fit a man obscure and humble in his fate,
Yet one who risks his life and does the very best he can
To obviate the dangers that beset his fellow-man;
Who faces icy gales and never flinches from the blast;
Who saves men, women, children, thinking of himself the last!
Upon that simple citizen some passing thought bestow
Who puts ashes on the sidewalk after shoveling off the snow.
Oh, kind philanthropist, while honoring those whose records claim
A public’s admiration and a monument of fame,
Contrive some decoration that will cause the family’s eyes
To look on dear old father as a hero and a prize.
Think of the many mortals who, as they passed on in line,
Were saved from fractured foreheads or concussion of the spine.
In letters all unfading write it that the world may know
“He put ashes on the sidewalk after shoveling off the snow.”
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