Abou Ben Adhem

This was my Dad's favorite poem:

Abou Ben Adhem
by James Henry Leigh Hunt

Abou Ben Adhem (may his tribe increase!)
Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace,
And saw, within the moonlight in his room,
Making it rich, and like a lily in bloom,
An angel writing in a book of gold: -
Exceeding peace had made Ben Adhem bold,
And to the Presence in the room he said
"What writest thou?" -The vision raised its head,
And with a look made of all sweet accord,
Answered "The names of those who love the Lord."
"And is mine one?" said Abou. "Nay, not so,"
Replied the angel. Abou spoke more low,
But cheerly still, and said "I pray thee, then,
Write me as one that loves his fellow men."

The angel wrote, and vanished. The next night
It came again with a great wakening light,
And showed the names whom love of God had blessed,
And lo! Ben Adhem's name led all the rest.

My Dad learned this poem as a teen and quoted it OFTEN. He lived it too...serving his fellow men constantly. My brother Matt just published a biography of my Dad. Much of it was written by my father before he died. In it he said that in his later years he had trouble sleeping so he would say the words to Abou Ben Adhem in his mind as he fell asleep. Isn't that sweet? His own personal lullaby. I think how an individual gets to sleep says alot about them. Those words were imprinted in my dad's mind and in his life. Since I read about Dad's personal lullaby, I decided to adopt the happy habit. The last few nights, my mind has raced as the words to the "Abou Poem" were repeated in my mind. (Dad said it so often, each of his children also have it memorized). I've begun writing a rebuttal to the poem. I know. Doesn't seem likely. Judge for yourself...I'll add it tomorrow.