a soldier's pledge

“Soldiers can sometimes make decisions that are smarter than
the orders they've been given.” ― Orson Scott Card, Ender's Game

i will go where there are no roads
for my feet fear not life’s thistles or its thorns
   i will hum when there are no words
     worthy of love’s quiet eves or peaceful morns
       i will wait when my impatience
  bids me dash this dream to hell and start anew
      i will revel in earth’s silence
 when her voice drowns in the crystal morning dew
 i will clamber through a dark den
  to illuminate my harsh and sullen days
 i will rise when i have fallen
for death’s curse will not let me forget life’s praise
i will fight when i am cornered
     to redeem the last shred of my solemn pride
  i will die and yet be honoured
braver men have slept with courage at their side

© Copyright 2019 November 26
by Clyve A. Bowen♫