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