Each hero is an ancient being…
whether woman, man or child
For the urgent will to live
fades from the brave and from the mild
when the choice is put before us:
to die or live with life defiled.

Who is there to say -
which critic could we blame,
if we should give our life willingly
rather than to live in shame?

When circumstance and fate step in,
and demands we face the test
We hope and pray to our loving God
that we will do our best.

For a hero is not a glory hunter,
nor one who seeks to be held in awe;
Nor is the thought of immortality
an idea that a hero once foresaw.

There was no thought of payment
or of medals to be won
but a mere reaction to an instant
and in a mere instant it was done.

And a hero doesn’t blindly think
of death and what it means.
A hero sees a job to do and,
in spite of fears and screams,
steps forward to make a difference
with no thought of Satan’s lurid fiends.

God bless the unsung heroes
for they echo in my dreams.