We Were Strong

So we sailed.
Eyes to the storm,
heels to the shore.

Nobody looked back.
Not because we were focused on the darkness ahead,
but because we were afraid of the light we were leaving behind.
Every man had a reason to be on that ship.
Every man had their reason to die,
and everything they were willing to die for was on that beach,
to their backs,
gone forevermore.

Gone, gone,
but never forgotten.
Memories of good and bad,
love and loss,
joy and pain,
all flooded the empty vessels of their mortality
to bring both weakness and power to their hearts.

Men are not judged by their fame in glory,
but by their strength in poverty.
And we were strong.

With thunder against the wind and our ship against the tide,
we were strong.

With no hope and no hesitation,
we were strong.

To guide the future by the past,
to avenge the deaths Ignorance cast,
to destroy the morals fools have made,
to plant a tree though we won't feel its shade:
so we sailed.
And we were strong.