The Warrior

After I retired I was cleaning out drawers and cabinets and came across this poem that I had written years ago. It correctly states, I think, the nature of the battle we are in, which begins with the transformation of character, as per Proverbs 16: 32: "He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city." I can't say the battle is over, which could be inferred from the end of the poem - it's an ongoing, uphill climb, but there are new victories every day as I relinquish control and and stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.

I stand amid the carnage of a battle fierce and strong;
I am wounded, I am weary, and the fight is oh, so long.
The smoky pall of battle hangs o'er the bloody field,
The rubble and the ruin lie where the battle raged and reeled.

The fallen here are many, the field is filled with blood;
The enemy has come in like a mighty, swelling flood.
A mighty, swelling army, and I cannot prevail;
Advancing, riding o'er me; I fall and surely fail.

But I look out throught the rubble, through the wreckage and the strife
And I see one fighting for me - He is fighting for my life.
Above the noise of battle, this battle fierce and strong,
I can hear a measured cadence as the Warrior sings His song.

As I gaze out through the pallor of the battle's bloody tide
I can see that He is wounded in His hands and feet and side.
But death could never hold Him, it could never be His loss;
On high He holds a banner, on the banner is a cross.

In His hands He holds a sword of burnished, gleaming steel;
The enemy lies fallen as He thrusts it where He will.
The enemy lies fallen, each in their killing place;
As I look out through the pallor I can see each has my face.

The enemies within me that used to rage and roar
Are fallen now forever; I'll fight with them no more.
Stilled, the noise of battle, dead my raging foe,
Conqueror, my Captain; His I am, I know.

The war is finally over, the smoke of battle clears;
The Warrior binds my wounds and dries away my tears.
We walk away together from the battle's heat,
Arm in arm forever - His victory is sweet.