He was a man who could be counted on
to listen to all who wanted his ear,
Who would give each a fair hearing and allow them to
depart with a sense of dignity, no matter what their concerns.
He was a man of the people, whose common roots
gave him an uncommon ability to sense what others felt,
and to know the primary drive that beat within each
human heart – the drive for life and for greater ease
for one's children.

All who came to him were received in trust,
for he was not one to gossip in the halls of Congress
or to idly let slip some news that was meant for his ears alone.
And to his credit, when someone owed him something
that they could not repay, he did not count it against them,
but instead, allowed time to take its course,
and with grace, gave to each the utmost respect
for doing the best they could.

This was no ordinary man, this man of the people,
for despite his humble beginnings he carried a
great weight of responsibility upon himself,
wrapped about him like a mantle or invisible cloak
that he always wore.
He knew, from the beginning, that he would have to
work ceaselessly to better the lot of his fellows -
something that did not even appear as a choice
to his inner awareness,
for it was as much a part of his character
as his fingers were part of his hand.

This sense of responsibility grew with him,
ripening, maturing, developing, but always carried
with a sense of inner necessity that exceeded the
fatigue and often the sorrow which accompanied the carrying
of a great burden.

When, in time, he had the opportunity to do some good
for the larger lot of man and was given the means to do so
with a mightier stroke of pen than he had ever
believed possible,
He took the opportunity to further the promise of freedom -
an opportunity that had been given to his fathers
and to their fathers before them -
to offer this promise to those who had
never known such blessing.
He took it upon himself to bring hope
to the disenfranchised, to the ones who had been omitted
from history's claim to American greatness.

This was and is the legacy of Abraham Lincoln,
the sixteenth president of the United States,
in whose shoes can walk only the mighty in spirit -
those whose calling is a calling to give all
for the benefit of all.