The Final Time (1988)
As I stride gallantly across the battlefield for the final time
with banners streaming by my side,
I give pause to think of the foe ahead
and the foe I left behind;
Again I push on, wishing not to feel
the remnants of my life, fading into steel,
Now the enemy is upon us, and now is when I live,
to see the enemy flee before our mighty crushing fist;
I see my foe as he rushes toward me, screaming in rage and fear
when I see his age, no more than half mine,
And again I pause, giving way to emotions I do not wish to have
when thoughts of greener days spun 'round in my head;
How I sense myself in him
and how I see his blade in hand,
I watch him slash and slash again,
attempting to gain my life;
I feel the pain, though no blow has been dealt,
none is needed, for my battle is already lost,
As the ground rises up to greet me,
I scream I bleed I...die;
As I have died a thousand times,
and will die a thousand more before the last,
The irresistible warmth of a peaceful sanctuary surrounds me
when a final thought appears, clearer than the rest;
'When will the world know,
when will the world weep for its children?'
A sudden jolt returns me to startled reality,
now the enemy is upon us, and now is when I live...
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