Stone Soldiers

 

Unwelcome requiem of utter light

resorts lost to shadowed figures

presence found among them

lingering man of honor

clad in silk spun from the stars

he remains as all else falls

ahead of his time

left behind to see the veils of fallen men

unarmed soldiers fight without legs

without a foot to stand on in the pages of history

paraplegics swarm from victories

shall he report to the admiral their losses

he is surely not accountable for his brothers

to their deaths they marched on

“i will, for you” stretches in their lungs

fight, the presence calls

cut a swath among the stone soldiers

run, as he does in the face of his demise

their last words wait with him, haunting

no one of them remains, save him

as nature has, he is called for explanation

the story will be told today

blind courage, uselessness, avarice

their story becomes his own

a story of bravery to cowardice