Labyrinth

Teaser

For Our Fathers: Keeping the Faith

Famous heroes never die; they stand like demigods,
Victorious in adversity and all the world applauds.
Transcending human nature, their names ring through the years
For they have faced most daunting odds and conquered all their fears.

But heroism thrives in honest lives of humble dignity
(All honour give to those who live in quiet simplicity);
For the selfless ones who cared for us have greater spirit shown
By raising us from childhood until childhood’s days have flown.

Not for them the burning fire and fury of Achilles,
The fame that’s found on a battle ground in the killing fields;
Not for them the sacrifice of Horatio at the bridge,
Standing alone at the gate of Rome, defying sacrilege.

They did not hear the war cry of Cuchulainn at the ford
Nor see King Arthur brandishing Excalibur, his sword,
But they have seen the beauty of the earth and of the sky
And of their children’s promise as each day flew by.

Their courage bears the hallmark of a gentle, kinder way
And seeks not immortality in a classic, epic lay.
But daily care for our welfare, the love that they have shown,
Makes them heroes in our eyes, known to us alone.

They kept the faith down through the years as they’ve grown old and grey;
We who remain must watch them wane before they slip away
Into the darkness… or the light… where all the heroes go
Like Beowulf, or Perseus, or Hector, long ago.

Thus our fate, as time decrees, to watch them pass from grace,
And visit them on birthdays, to say a prayer and place
Flowers at their resting place, for though their days have gone,
We remember all their love, and when heroism shone.

Contents
71 poems spread across 11 sections