Friday, December 9, 2016

To Fight For

This was the king to fight for. ~ Monica McCarty, The Ghost
The king is the leader, not the sole combatant — usually —
but as the armies gathered at the agreed battlefield
of Bannockburn, the decisive battle
of the First War of Scottish Independence,
a young English knight in full armor saw Robert the Bruce,
Scotland's king, riding a pony armed only with a battleaxe.
Thinking he could win the war by running the Bruce through
he reined his war horse and thundered toward the "Pretender"
sure that Sir Henry DeBorne had won the war before the battle
began. The Bruce acted as no king would, held his ground
rather  than trusting his men, turned the pony at the last moment
and drove his axe through helmet and head.
The next day as the English felt confident they would prevail,
they saw a "new" army approach, the servants and camp followers
who had grown tired of idly watching the battle.
So with sticks for weapons,
and with sheets tied upon tent poles for banners,
they marched down the hill to join the fight.
We have a program to fight for, a winner we've seen work.
We have a program that pulls us in, making us more than ready
to give service to pay back a plan to fight for.
 
Robert the Bruce killing Henry De Bohun


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