Be smart be alert
Do not hide the truth my friend
Defend the truth until the end

RW Dennen-

Come my brothers and sisters
  let us be basked in the sun of glory
Be we the tears that fall
  surrendered on cheeks that tell their tale

Let slavery's master-yoke be broken
  and cast away

Come my brothers and sisters
and so do join in our power's struggle
  to lend a better day

Come my brothers and sisters
  may your shining soul be at rest

Come be as neighbors no matter far away
  let our colors merge one into one is one;
    let racism fade away
  and let rest us upon the immovable stone
     of brotherhood; so powerful we are
And so too awaits our resolve enlightened by
our hearts of day

Then tear that awful blind of ignorance
and sing our song till all merge into one
And laud that peace that will increase good tidings to us all

Be that light until that sight
when colors merge and BROTHERHOOD,
  to never go away...

T͙O͙ E͙V͙E͙R͙Y͙ L͙I͙V͙I͙N͙G͙ O͙F͙ E͙X͙I͙S͙T͙E͙N͙C͙E͙
M͙E͙N͙ G͙R͙E͙A͙T͙L͙Y͙ G͙R͙O͙W͙L͙S͙ N͙O͙T͙H͙I͙N͙G͙ M͙A͙D͙E͙ O͙F͙ F͙E͙A͙R͙
S͙T͙R͙I͙K͙E͙S͙ T͙H͙E͙ B͙A͙C͙O͙N͙ L͙E͙A͙V͙E͙S͙ A͙ S͙U͙S͙P͙E͙N͙S͙E͙
N͙O͙T͙ A͙ D͙O͙U͙B͙T͙ T͙O͙ O͙N͙E͙'S͙ E͙A͙R͙

C͙O͙M͙E͙S͙ A͙N͙D͙ L͙I͙V͙E͙S͙ A͙ K͙N͙I͙G͙H͙T͙ F͙I͙L͙L͙E͙D͙ V͙A͙L͙O͙R͙
F͙O͙R͙ L͙I͙F͙E͙ B͙E͙A͙R͙S͙ S͙T͙R͙U͙G͙G͙L͙E͙ A͙N͙D͙ T͙R͙I͙A͙L͙S͙
L͙E͙A͙R͙N͙ T͙O͙ S͙A͙I͙L͙ Y͙O͙U͙R͙ O͙W͙N͙ A͙S͙ A͙ S͙A͙I͙L͙O͙R͙
N͙E͙V͙E͙R͙ S͙E͙T͙ A͙ S͙E͙L͙F͙ I͙N͙ D͙E͙N͙I͙A͙L͙S͙

A͙D͙D͙R͙E͙S͙S͙ T͙H͙E͙ N͙A͙T͙I͙O͙N͙ O͙N͙ E͙Y͙E͙ T͙O͙ E͙Y͙E͙
M͙A͙K͙E͙ A͙ M͙O͙T͙I͙O͙N͙ F͙O͙R͙ T͙H͙E͙ B͙E͙T͙T͙E͙R͙ S͙I͙D͙E͙S͙
T͙O͙ L͙I͙V͙E͙ A͙N͙D͙ F͙I͙G͙H͙T͙ F͙O͙R͙ A͙ T͙R͙Y͙
A͙N͙D͙ M͙A͙Y͙ S͙U͙C͙C͙E͙E͙D͙ A͙ P͙E͙A͙C͙E͙F͙U͙L͙ M͙I͙N͙D͙

F͙O͙R͙ T͙H͙E͙ S͙T͙A͙G͙E͙ I͙S͙ A͙S͙ E͙N͙T͙I͙C͙I͙N͙G͙
T͙H͙E͙N͙ S͙H͙O͙W͙C͙A͙S͙E͙ Y͙O͙U͙R͙ A͙B͙I͙L͙I͙T͙Y͙
I͙N͙ S͙P͙A͙R͙I͙N͙G͙ A͙ B͙L͙E͙S͙S͙I͙N͙G͙
S͙O͙M͙E͙O͙N͙E͙ H͙A͙S͙ B͙R͙A͙V͙E͙R͙Y͙ T͙O͙ P͙R͙O͙T͙E͙C͙T͙ H͙U͙M͙A͙N͙I͙T͙Y͙

My mind holds out on that last word:
Valor.
I am not brave,
I cannot change a country,
End world hunger,
Stop abuse.
I cannot make a difference in the
Big scheme of things.
I cannot win a silver star.
In complete honesty
I am not brave.
But I am not a coward either.
I strive to make a difference,
Help people cope,
Take the time to listen,
Strive to do what's right.
I've heard it said that
A hero is made when
People make the right choices.
Bravery comes when good it done.

Hold fast to this word:
Valor.

To myself, never let go of this:
Courage.

To everyone:
I am not brave,
But I am not a coward.
I will live up to tomorrow.
I will partake of the consequences of my actions.
I will change.
I will become.
I will be brave.
The change comes today.

Valor.

A young man with a family back home
A wife and a little girl back home
No one cares who he is now
No one will remember him when he is gone
Whether he was a grade “A” student or not
He will be replaced if he falls
He is a solider of America
His unit drives strait into an ambush
His friends killed by his side
Death everywhere he looks
Someone starts to yell fall back
But is stopped in mid-sentence
By a bullet through the heart
Someone manages to spit the words out
Once they finally fall back,
He looks at the ragtag group around him
A man from Georgia
A couple from Tennessee
Their leader didn’t make it
Nor the man who finally yelled fall back
He is the last of the officers
Nothing in his training could have prepared him,
For this
Now not only is his life in his hands
But those around him
He breaks down and cries
An aged man with a family back home
A wife and a little girl back home
Now he is all that stands between home and death
His next move could be his last or his best
He has a choice between life or death
He has a choice between waiting or fighting his way out
Waiting they could be ambushed again and all die
Fighting their way out they could all die
Only seventeen remain
He chooses to fight his way out
They break out the back entrance
Only to find more enemies
After a brief scrimmage they continue adrenalized
They see a Humvee and a troop-transport that look unscathed
He sprints followed closely by his men
Halfway he hears gunfire
His only target is the 50 caliber on the Humvee
Running through bullets and crossfire he makes it
His men low on ammo
His enemies coming by the thousands
He yells to get in as soon as he is shooting
They escape barely losing only one guy
But as their code says,
No man left behind even his body comes
He continues shooting over a hundred yards away
Even though there are no pursuers
He finally climbs back in
He looks over his men checking for wounds
Only to see the color drained from their faces
He begins to see black
He wonders if this is what death feels like
A dying man with a family back home
A wife and a little girl back home
A Purple Heart recipient
A Medal of Honor recipient
A Medal of Valor recipient
A man now decorated with honors
An army veteran with a family back home
A wife and a little girl back home
A survivor of Afghanistan with a family back home
A wife and a little girl