True Enough (For Burke)
The legacy of battles and life
Shapes and wears your body
Sassy-leafed countenance
Once emerging, now fading
Your sturdy trunk, now bent.
I recall Yeats once said:
Being Irish, he had an abiding
sense of tragedy, which sustained him
through temporary periods of joy.
Ay, ’twere true enough lad.
I carried you with me
Like a reference book
Of strategic considerations,
While engaged in the battle space
For justice’ cause has many enemies.
My link and cipher signal
Unravelling the knot theory
Hinting for the right conclusion
In 100 of 100 battles
I knew myself, knew my enemy.
Praytell, what is our assessment
Of this situation now?
We will retreat toward lands-end
To fight another day
As the Earth Mother reaches up
And clasps you to her bosom.
Mark Bean
12.07.2022
