GILDED LIONS

How life is a savage flame;

Battling against winds of change.

It dances with the Devils of chaos,

For it's passions cannot be tamed.

Faithful to nothing, and indifferent to all; 

Unmoved, whether we stand or we crawl. 

How the mighty dare

To defy life's treacherous test;

And It's power to despair 

The spirit beyond repair.

Gallant pursuits to conquer 

The black depths of the abyss 

And seize the fleeting joys;

traces of gold it seldom gifts. 

We are all soldiers born,

Yet some may crack or break,

And their resolve may burn.

Only the fearless triumph;

Only the brave remain. 

If by turn of fortune,

Or element of design,

we become the victims

Of the ravages of time,

We need not sink or drown

In the wreckage Fate has borne. 

By some benevolent providence,

Our essence reigns supreme,

Through the blood that courses

And rhythms of champion hearts. 

Men designed with virtues sublime,

survive the trials of Time

Undefeated; like gilded lions with crowns. 

Reviews

[A little flame]

This is a beautiful poem. It reminds me of a quote from Stephen Crane's RED BADGE OF COURAGE, in which a deserter was resentful towards his brave companions. "At times he regarded the wounded soldiers in an envious way. He conceived persons with torn bodies to be peculiarly happy. He wished that he, too, had a wound, a red badge of courage."