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Tough Guy and Poet, Too

Robert C. McLaughlin Jr. ran with the bulls in Pamplona, visited the killing fields in Cambodia and sailed the South China Sea. He played rugby and lacrosse in college, and later, as vice president for emerging markets at Cantor Fitzgerald, romped the playing fields of American capitalism. He was a man of adventure and action, a tough guy.

He also wrote poetry. This wasn't something he shared with many people, and he didn't do it often. But every now and then, when he felt particularly moved, he found his voice in verse. It happened two years ago, the night before his wedding, recalled his wife, Liz. And it happened again in April, when he began a new poem about their first child, Nicholas, now 10 months old. Like many new fathers, Mr. McLaughlin, 29, of Pelham, N.Y., was endlessly fascinated by the infinitesimal ways in which Nicholas was growing and becoming. He wrote:

Open your eyes young Nicholas

Open and see the colors

Of the world around you

Roll over young Nicholas

Roll over and see the light

Of day that awaits you

Crawl young Nicholas

Crawl and peer over the edge

Of experience that awaits you

Walk young Nicholas

Walk and find --

The last verse was a work in progress. "That's as far as he got," Mrs. McLaughlin said.

Profile published in THE NEW YORK TIMES on October 18, 2001.