Early Training
Soldiers march persistently
Down a narrow path,
Across a field’s eternity
And tiptoe nature’s wrath.
A well taught lad of early rising
Marches by their side,
A lassie trails self-sacrificing,
Her pride undignified.
Early training tracks run deep,
They seep within the ground.
What soldier yet then will not leap
When the muskets sound?
What boy won’t wonder what is left
When men then march away?
What girl of self would be bereft
For sons who will not stay?
The flags and drums and pipes may call
To train the fertile mind.
Yet narrow paths cannot forestall
The ways of humankind.
The mountains shout, we are here!
No fear of nature’s way,
The sun a million years will cheer
The turning of each day.
Early training tracks run deep,
They steep within the soul
And sweep the field our natures keep
To make our souls turn whole.