I must not let my boy Dick down,
Knight of the air.
With wings of light he won renown
Then crashed somewhere.
To fly to France from London town
I do not dare.
Oh he was such a simple lad
Who loved the sky;
A modern day Sir Galahad,
No need to die:
Earthbound he might have been so glad,
Yet chose to fly.
I ask from where his courage stemmed?
I’ve never flown;
Air-travel I have oft condemned,–
Now I’m alone,
Yet somehow hold the bright belief
God gave his brief.
So now I must live up to him
Who won on high
A lustre time will never dim;
Though coward I,
Let me revere till life be done
My hero son.
