Warrior

This is the best time of the day, the dawn

The final cleansing breath unsullied yet

By acrid fume or death's cacophony

The rank refuse of unchained ambition

And pray, deny me not, but know me now

Your faithful retainer stands resolute

To serve his liege Lord without recompense

Perchance to fall and perish namelessly

No flag-draped bier or muffled drum to set

The cadence for a final dress parade

But it was not always thus remember

Once you worshipped me and named me a God

In many tongues and made offering lest

I exact too terrible a tribute

Take heed for I am weary, ancient and decrepit now

And my time grows short

There are no honorable frays to join

Only mean death dealt out in dibs and dabs

Or horror unleashed from across oceans

Assail me not with noble policy

For I care not at all for platitude

And surrender such tedious detail

To greater minds than mine and nimbler tongues

Singular in their purpose and resolve

And presuming to speak for every man

Oh, for another time, a distant field

And there a mortal warrior's lonely grave

But duty charges me remain until the end

The last battle of the last war

Until that tomorrow render unto me

That which is mine my stipend well-deserved

The fairest flower of your progeny

Your sons, your daughters, your hopes, and your dreams

The cruel consequence of your conceit