Guardian Poem by Brandon McConnell

Louder to him than the deafening cries,
Are the gunshots that pierce each man as he dies.
He looks about and sees the demise,
Of his once good friends and his trusted allies.

He was scared of death and fell to the ground,
Trying his best to make an audible sound.
He closed his eyes and held in his tears,
The fight soon ended confirming his fears.

He waited awhile and then got up,
Inside of a building, a bomb then blew up.
He let loose his tears, and in his mind he said,
I was a coward, I wish I were dead!

Watching the building, he noticed a child,
Helpless and trapped; that's when he smiled.
A chance for redemption, now was his time,
He ran into that building and started to climb.

Collapsing around him, the ceiling now trembled,
He jumped for the child as the floor disassembled.
Quickly he grabbed that child and ran,
the fastest he could, toward where he came in.

Just as it fell, he made it outside,
Collapsed to the ground, with the kid at his side.
The coward he was at the start of the day,
is dead now; the soldier is here to stay.