The Lost Child Poem by William Chaplar

There aren't many tales that have ever outdone
The often-told story of the Prodigal Son.
It's a tale of forgiveness and parental love;
A message that, these days, we could all use more of.
It tells of a father who loses a son;
Where once he had two children, now he had one.
The younger, who'd chosen to go it alone,
Asked his father for money and went out on his own.
But he'd bitten off far more than he could chew,
And soon he discovered he couldn't make do.
He spent all the money he'd gotten from Dad,
Then a famine occurred and things really got bad.
He signed on with a fellow who made him feed swine;
A task which, at home, he would surely decline.
His mistake soon condemned him to a horrific fate
Where he'd fain fill his belly with what the swine ate.
When he came to his senses, he wondered out loud,
"How much bread are my father's servants allowed? "
He then thought to himself, "It just doesn't seem fair
That I starve while they have enough food to spare."
Soon he chose to return to where he had begun
And tell his dad he was an unworthy son.
But when his dad saw him, he came on the fly.
With compassion, he kissed him then started to cry,
"Put a ring on his finger and shoes on his feet!
Bring the fatted calf hither that we might have meat! "
And so they made merry and great joy did abound.
For the child that was lost was once again found.
But the man's older son just could not comprehend
How the rift in the family could so easily mend.
So his father went to him and asked what was wrong.
"Why not welcome your brother who's been absent so long? "
To which he responded, "But what about me? "
For these many years, it was I who served thee.
I never transgressed. I never did roam.
My brother departed while I stayed at home."
So the man looked his firstborn son square in the eyes
And, with utmost sincerity, gave this reply:
"Thou art ever with me, and all I own is thine.
And my love for your brother does not that undermine.
But his place in my heart I could never deprive.
For he who was dead is now once more alive."