The Iron Warrior

The Iron Warrior

 by Dan Eaton

The age of man shifts, he is measured as;

 a builder, farmer, clock puncher, teacher, bill payer, tinker, head of home.

Noble and worthwhile all; true.

Alas, Fewer and Few measured by strength of arm, courage in battle; the immortal fight or flight.

Rare souls find the path; they the warrior, soldier, enforcer, guardian.

For some despite the soul grinding path of the provider, the builder, the bill payer,
a persistent call is herd, an unrelenting, irresistible tugging sound.
A clatter, ting, and sprang of metal on metal;
pulling at the deep seated need to test oneself.
To pit muscle, sinew, and resolve versus the seemingly immovable, the unconquerable.

These ones hear the sound of Iron calling to them.
 ...And to some of these the call of Iron is strong,
It infects the sleep, the daytime moments when the mind wonders to more favorable things.
These ones follow the scent of strain, sweat, dust, iron and steel.

These ones find the places with Iron, places with contests of strength and skill, fist and kick.
Finding a certain meaning, purity, peace in overcoming one obstacle after another.
To forge will, sinew, muscle, and bone into something larger, stronger, harder than before.
One day flows to another as things are built, farmed, timed, payed, and seen to;
The monotony broken by the test of the Iron.
The spirit soaring when a new goal is met, a new weight lifted.
Sinew, resolve, back and arm made stronger than before as the world streams tick tocking by.
This is the silent path of the iron warrior.