The Man With the Face

by Dale Robertson


Copyrighted and used with Mr. Robertson's permission. No copy may be made without his express consent

Editor's note: I got to hear Dale give the context of this poem when he was interviewed at the 1998 National Cowboy Symposium in Lubbock, Texas. He said that when he was trying to get started in acting, he lived in a tiny basement apartment in Hollywood. He came in one night, tossed his billfold on the chest-of-drawers, and it fell open to where he could see the painting of Jesus that he always carried with him. He looked at that face for a few seconds, then went to bed. However, he kept thinking about that face. And so he got up and wrote this poem. And, at the age of 75, Dale then quoted the poem from memory. That was a special kind of moment.

I've walked the streets the wide world over
And noticed the faces that passed
But I saw a face, the face of a man
That will in my memory last.

It was late in the evening as I well remember
Yet the sun was still in the sky
It was the fall of the year of a wonderful year
When the man with the face came passing by.

I looked at him and couldn't believe
That such a man could ever exist.
He gave a smile that warmed me through
A smile I found I couldn't resist.

His hair was parted in the center of his head
And hung to his shoulders a deep, rich red.
His forehead was rounded and exceedingly high
And the blue of the heavens were no match for his eye.

His nose was straight and his skin like milk
Was smooth, as smooth as the finest silk.
His beard was the color of his fine red hair
And his mouth you could tell held goodness there.

I started to speak but to my surprise
A lump in my throat began to rise.
I looked at the people that were hurrying by
To see if they saw the look in his eye.

He said not a word, but somehow I knew
That here was a man that could help me and you.
I turned as he passed and waved a goodbye.
He was going toward home, his home in the sky.

But maybe someday, the powers that be
Will shed a bit of the grace on me.
And I'll follow him up, to his wonderful place
And I'll see once again, the man with the face.

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