There Was a Dawn

I wrote this yesterday for my dear friend Stephanie. Though I wrote it for her, there are others it makes me think of. Others who have fought or are fighting battles - some emotional, some physical, some in the military sense of the word - others who might just appreciate it or relate somehow, for none of us is immune. We all have a battle at some point or another.

There was a dawn that called me forth
And hurriedly I replied.
Duty called with urgent voice.
It wasn’t that there was no choice,
But opened were my eyes.

There was a morn that saw the steps
That led to a demise.
Yet the death of what we leave behind
Is often birth of another kind -
A blessing in disguise.

There was a noon that saw the sun
Roll back behind a cloud.
No view ahead was afforded by
The menacing and darkened sky
Yet fast I held my ground.

There was a day that watched me rise
To battle enemies that tried
To fight me off and take me down,
To crash to earth or at sea drown,
As I fought on borrowed time.

There was an eve that threw light upon
My drive. Never to be outdone
It mattered not how long it took,
Nor how severely my resolve shook,
Just that I had battled and had won.

There was a sunset that led me to grace
For at the battle’s end
I flew back home to the embrace
Of those who had the power to erase
The fear, and to my wounds would tend.

There was a night that gave me rest
With loved ones, family, friends.
I slept long and hard, dreaming deep
Of how the Lord my soul does keep -
My Defense until the end.