An homage to any who sacrifice themselves for another...

BULLET

If I took a bullet for you,

would you remember my name?

A year from then

when my blood

in the desert sands dried

would you honor my passing

with a quiet salute?

If I took a bullet for you,

would you remember my name

ten years hence?

With the life you live

the wife you give

kisses to every morning,

the daughter whose smile makes

every moment a wonder,

do you remember the last words I spoke

whispered on death’s breath:

“Live life deeply”

If I took a bullet for you,

would you remember my name one hundred years?

Or rather lay forgotten beneath a bleach’d tooth,

one among many sprouting from green gums of grass,

never again to bite.

Where rain and ice conspire to weather

away every last stone-etched name,

letters weary of lost sorrow

and wash away all memory.

If I took a bullet for you,

would you know I came as close

as any human could

to the Christ-like surrender

of life for the everlasting

glory of love through you?

If I took a bullet for you,

how long would you remember my name?