There his men stood
With fear and uncertainty,
Questioning if their small regiment could
Defeat the great and mighty enemy.
"The enemy flaunts their might,
But what lies at their core?
For glory and honor we fight,
Virtues only God can adorn.
"Aye!" Returned his men.
"And we shall charge forth into this
Fire, only to reach the other side,
If eternal Glory you desire!"
"Aye!" Returned his men.
But as the Captain spoke, rushing
Forth like a herd of buffalo on
Stampede, the enemy came into sight.
"Fear not their numbers!
Fear not their strength.
Fear only the cowardice
That overtook the other ranks!"
"Aye!" Returned his men.
With the enemy drawing closer,
The Captain had a final word to rouse:
"Rally forth, men, and fight for
The House! fight for the Glory,
Fight as hard as your body allows!" Louder than ever,
Came "Aye!" from his men, their hearts
Swelling within as they saw him sprint towards
The sea of opposition, they all
Followed to the hardest, most daring
Battle in which they'd ever been.
Just then, the two houses clashed.
Left and right, men engaged men
In their own death clasps, some wrestled,
Some tackled with force, but none ran.
For they were married to this cause which they could not divorce.
Up front, some men caught sight
Of Captain, a true Achilles the enemy struggled to confront.
Cutting down men with something in his
Eyes, something great that the evil despise.
As they seemed to be overtaken, one
Final rally and one final push brought
Quite contradictory results to this Captain and
His faithful, courageous men; Victory!
Among the blood and injury walked
The true victors of that day,
With not only winning this battle,
But successful in fighting the War away!
As celebration ensued, the men mounted
Up their Captain upon a great stump
Who over cheers and praise, gave his
Victory speech among the clump.
"Men, what we have seen portrayed
Today was not my doing. The enemy
Was defeated in the course of your pursuing
Virtue through courage and temptation subduing.
But alas, victory is not always success,
And defeat is not always failure. Let
Us not be proud of this event today,
And not curse, but honor our fallen enemy's corps.
But today men, we shall feast.
Let us rejoice in this jubilee, and
Praise the Trinity for the gifts of
Brotherhood, Virtue, ad Plentity!"
"Hurrah!" responded his men, and
With this speech, a great and long
Celebration ensued. One of
Friendship, joy, and delicious food.
Now today, the older Captain sits,
Musing over these past events
With a smile upon his face
And nostalgia resounding within.
Gripping his pack, he remembers that
Day. Once a boy, now a man of zeal.
Missing the simplicity of yesterday, he lands
On foreign soil for battle, this time, for real.
Covered in blood, his regiment is scared.
As shrapnel and rubble maimed his friends
He stepped up. "Rally forth men, today we win."
As they charged once more, the enemy killed them.
Lying among the fallen brothers
He led, he smiled and closed his eyes.
Resting his head, he muttered his prayers.
And as he died, victory was theirs.
Written on 10-31-15
