Spirit Of A Warrior Poem by Leslie D. Hannah

I have seen a thousand wars, through eyes accustomed to death
Trod a thousand battle fields, in bare feet, sandals,
On horse back, and in boots
Thrown a thousand rocks, a thousand spears,
Shot a thousand arrows, a thousand bullets,
Launched a thousand rockets,
I know the thousand faces of death
I have seen them all, a thousand times over
I have been them all, through a thousand different hosts
I have left thousand of grieving families
Still, like time and war
I go on
But I grow tired
I would like to pause
No matter what I may pretend
I would lke to feel the sun on my face
And turn my back on the spectacle of war
I want to lay my defenses down
And pick up faith
I am tired of fighting
No one cries harder for peace
Than a warrior who has lost the will to fight
But I am forced to fight on
I dare not stop fighting now
For if I do
All that has been gained in my thousand wars will be lost
So I will fight one more battle
One last war, to its brutal end
Then I will pause
And sit down with my friends
We will share a drink and a laugh
And perhaps a tear
But for now, I fight on
For I am the Spirit of a Warrior
And I cry