Thermopylae Part I Poem by Wesley Mincin

Thermopylae Part I

Side by side we stand against a sea of men and hate,
for we, free men of Greece decide to embrace our fates.
We will show that no one, King or God, may be our lord.
For this, we face the Persian Nation's mighty, massive horde.
The night before; an angered sea engulfed a Persian fleet.
A thousand lifeless bodies drift as predatory meat.
Against a cliff, before the sea, we witnessed Tritan's might,
and prayed to Zeus for aid in our daring, final fight.
Morning came and there we stood undaunted by our task.
The winds died down, the skies had cleared but the storm had not yet passed.
An emissary came to us and warned us to submit.
We laughed at such a pitiful swine; with that he was dismissed.
'Heed my words, you Hoplite fools, our arrows will blot out the sun.'
They thought with just a single swipe the battle would be won.
A Spartan soldier stepped forth and said, 'Then we shall fight in shade.'
The memory of this glorious battle would not soon die or fade.
The hour dawned, the time had come, the Persian horde arrived.
We'd give our hearts-we'd give our lives, but our freedom, that, we denied.
A horn is blow. A million cries if slaves deafens the ears.
But we three-hundred Spartans stand unfazed, immune to fear.
Wicker shields, rusty swords and spears meet our shields.
Our phalanx is unbreakable. They're fighting on our field.
This golden wall stands firm as we press back the Persian troops.
They fail to dent the Spartan line even as they regroup.
Our spears blast through their wicker toys and pierce their distressed hearts.
We bask in glory as we gladly butcher body parts.
We throw them back with just a handful wounded and/or dead.
The sight of us, for Persians, is a sight they truly dread.
Yet as the night falls over us and while we try to sleep,
we hear them from a distance as a thousands Persians weep.
And so we stand and form a line. There's much for them to fret.
We slam our spears against our shields. We are not finished yet.