The Stalwart Soldier

Five stalwart soldiers face the battlefront.

Then one by one they fall until only one remains,

The true soldier, not a replica like the four who fell before.

The last soldier, now alone, finally knows

His heart, his mind. He stands

To face the opposition, look them in the eye

That they, too, will know he is not afraid

To stand before them all alone:

They who prize winning above all,

Who break rules they agreed upon

As right and fair,

They who value winning

More than kindness

More that friendship.

The last of the five stalwart soldiers

Gathers up his fallen replica comrades,

Turns and walks away.

The fallen four will rest upon a shelf

To remind the fifth of what was learned.

One stalwart soldier stands tall

At the battlefront, alone but unafraid.

He can do nothing less.

He knows his heart, his mind.

He will look the enemy in the eye

That the other will know

To be kind is not to be weak,

To be a friend is not to lose.

One stalwart soldier stands

At the battlefront, alone.