The Hero's Light
May 18, 2025
BY Bo Bryan
War is an act
Of creative destruction.
The art of war
Destroys and creates nations.
The warriors engaged
Are the art supplies of history,
Employed and deployed
To conquer and defend,
Secure and protect.
In death, such warriors
Are accorded divine reverence.
Martyrs of the same species
As god-like heroes of antiquity,
Who traded self-sacrifice in battle
For the glory of words
Sung by poets.
After the war,
The hero’s light
Illuminates victory
Ahead the man.
It is left to us
To raise the voice
Of relentless gratitude
For the individual fighter.
No mere song of praise
Compares to conspicuous gallantry
Under fire.
Nevertheless, we sing.
We, for whom the gallantry
Is done,
The martyr’s sacrifice committed,
The nation created and secured.
We the People exalt the warrior,
Whose masterpiece is our defense,
Whose sacrifice is our salvation.
Let shine the hero’s light.
Ahmen.
By Bo Bryan,
Poet Laureate of Myrtle Beach
(C) George W. Bryan, Jr. 5/18/25
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