There lived a man of ethics All he said offended His writings were forbidden he lived by grinding lenses

The grinding destroyed his body The living became dying The dying could be ended Only by compromise and lying

He declined the living And chose the grinding It is better to die by seeing Than to live by dying

His life made men see His death was not empty His ethics live in me His awareness - part of infinity

John David Garcia Potomac, Maryland (March, 1970)