Battle Cry Poem by Bill Upton

There will always be fear.
There will always be danger.
Physical, mental, emotional explosions
Become more challenging with age.
Confidence loses momentum under duress.
The chance of loss often seems greater
Than the chance of success.
Winter cold comes in to suffocate summer spirit.

Timidity in tenuous situations becomes cancerous,
Metastasizing into the human will to go on.
Roadblocks get harder to navigate.
Moral drivers' licenses get suspended.
The word 'NO' shuts down possibilities of agenda rebounding.
No one wants to stand up and fight,
And therein lies the problem.
Regardless of fear, of danger, of repercussion,
We always have a chance-
ALWAYS-
A-L-W-A-Y-S.
Outcomes aren't decided until they ring the bell.
No matter the enemy,
Believe until the end.
Learn to visualize the 'what ifs'.
There is always one last knockout punch lurking,
Waiting for the moment.
Throw the Hail Mary pass.
Trust in the receiver.
Never cease to be amazed by
The astonishment of non-surrender.