DEAR ABBY: My husband, James Patrick Kinney, wrote the poem "The Cold Within" in the 1960s. It is gratifying to know he left something behind that others appreciate.
He submitted it to the Saturday Evening Post; however, it was rejected as "too controversial for the times."
Jim was active in the ecumenical movement. His poem was sent in to the Liguorian, a Catholic magazine. That was its first official publication to my knowledge. Since then, it has appeared in church bulletins, teaching seminars and on talk radio, listed as "Author Unknown." If that was done for legal protection, I understand. My family is always happy to see it appear, but we do think the true author should be given credit.
Jim died at 51 of a heart attack on May 23, 1973, after retiring to Sarasota, Fla.
My second marriage was to Homer Kenny, a Sarasota widower, so I became ... MRS. JAMES KINNEY-KENNY
DEAR MRS. KINNEY-KENNY: I agree that the true author should be given credit. James Kinney was a gifted poet. How sad that he died so young, because he had keen insight and constructive things to say to all of us.