Death of a Hero

As every bright light must go out
Every great man will find his grave
So in the day of fading life and waxing light
There is clear reflection of a life fully given
From that first quick spark to that last flare of the pyre

But his heart beats
And with one last breath

He knows that not every man’s prime is in his youth
And it is a rarest hero who can die of old age
As even some giants of heaven are beheld by few
So too the greatest of men will shine in obscurity
And with no cause to doubt immortal devotion nor ageless zeal

His heart beats
And with one last breath

He can clearly see that the measure of great men is not in accomplishment
But in his loyalty his passion and in what it took to make him quit
Now with the swift approach of death he sees what they finally saw
That which one righteous man dies for, lives for let no man call it waste
Can one man live forever, will not every cause someday fade

His heart beats
And with one last breath

We too know that not every great man must achieve, but he must strive
Dreams born of a few bled for by many will be carried on by a handful
As the course of heaven and the ways of man are discovered to a few
So the purpose of life and great life is known only to the one who lives it
So too as ones hero dies who can know the depth of his devotion or the fire of his soul

And his heart fails
And his breath ceases

One hero dies for his God, his country, his home, his truth
One hero dies a deathless death