A Soldier’s Path

They begged me, “Stay—don’t seek the fight, Don’t trade your days for endless night.” But honor’s fire burned fierce and strong, And so I went where I belonged. They warned of sorrow, warned of pain, Of blood that falls like bitter rain. They said no cause could be so grand To leave my home, my mother’s hand. Yet how could I in comfort stay, While others marched into the fray? To guard the land that gave me breath, I’d face the smoke, the fear, the death. I left with dreams, with visions bright, But war soon stole that hopeful light. In mud and dust, in cries and screams, The world was not the land of dreams. Still, through the darkness, through the fear, I heard their voices ringing clear— A distant echo, soft and true, A love I fought to carry through. And though they may not understand Why I would die for this proud land, My spirit walks where freedom calls, Unbroken by the hardest falls. For in my heart, I always knew— I’d give my life, my soul, for you.