Unk cigar-slobber kissed us
with mildly put amenities,
wore dark silk and Southern brims, but
wouldn't sip a julep

he took oatmeal from a morning maid
and walked to work whistling
passing out tootsie rolls to
children under forty and compliments
to the rest

he made millions
from stocks and bonds
reading the paper
and with everyman
had mouthfuls of manners

I never heard him utter black invective,
not even when black was black
and white wasn't

a dog always in the back
trotting along or sniffing
cotton air

between towns or country stores
where mansions and shacks were
bricked and wooded into
the Southern sun

a very gentleman