Final Battle

By Cliff Lake

Final Battle

 

One final battle.

That’s what he had left.

One final battle,

That’s what he could endure.

One final battle –

Not to win or lose,

One final battle,

The victory was in the doing.

What had brought him here?

Life.

What could he take from here?

Living,

For there was no greater contest than that.

He was girded in simply being,

He was shielded by his every breath.

The conflict before him,

Was as every one previous:

The winning was in the surviving,

The loss was in the looking back,

And the reliving a wrong.

One final battle,

A mantra.

One final battle:

A purpose.

One final battle –

The way forward.

There is no cowardice in retreat,

If one means to fight another day,

If one means to fight through another day.

For what shame is there in living,

If one does the living

As well as they are able.

What shame is there in dying,

If one has served life well?

One final battle,

He is ready.

One final battle,

He is as tempered as fine steel.

 

 

One final battle –

Thus he greets every dawn…

 

Cliff Lake 8/26/2024

Copyright © Clifford Lake 2024

Location: Wichita, KS, USA

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