I Want a Leader
Photo used under a Creative Commons license from flickr user R. Miller.
I Want a Leader
I want a leader
who walks in the wood,
sits on a log
without thinking he could
Buy it or Build it,
make a new ‘hood.
I want a leader
who looks at a foe,
grants his humanity,
then lets anger go.
I want a leader
who laughs at each stumble,
makes no excuses,
values the humble.
I want a leader
who cries without shame
actively listens,
doesn’t play games.
I want a leader
better than me,
giving us hope,
helping us see.
I want a leader
who lives not on cheers,
hearing out critics
without throwing jeers.
I want a leader
who walks in the wood,
honoring peace,
the power of good.
I want a leader.
Len Shindel began working at Bethlehem Steel’s Sparrows Point Plant in 1973, where he was a union activist and elected representative in local unions of the United Steelworkers, frequently publishing newsletters about issues confronting his co-workers. His nonfiction and poetry have been published in the “Other Voices” section of the Baltimore Evening Sun, The Pearl, The Mill Hunk Herald, Pig Iron, Labor Notes and other publications. After leaving Sparrows Point in 2002, Shindel, a father of three and grandfather of seven, began working as a communication specialist for an international union based in Washington, D.C. The International Labor Communications Association frequently rewarded his writing. He retired in 2016. Today he enjoys writing, cross-country skiing, kayaking, hiking, fly-fishing, and fighting for a more peaceful, sustainable and safe world for his grandchildren and their generation. Shindel is currently working on a book about the Garrett County Roads Workers Strike of 1970 www.garrettroadstrike.com.