Warrior's Oath

Lay me low so I may rise again, but while you’re laying waste remember; each new day finds its beginning from another’s end, the sun rises and at its height descends. Lay me low so I may find my roots. For when I fly at this height the Earth is so small and the sun so bright that it melts the wax and I plummet back to what I left. Lay me low so I may win glory. For joy is not in the destination, but the journey. Burn me into the dust, then from old ashes I’ll rise, finding new life. . . . This is a poem I wrote when thinking about what it means to find victory from defeat and the value of humility. I wrote it five years ago and it has become a personal mantra of sorts. From every experience, good or bad, there is a lesson to be learned, and in doing so an individual will never truly know defeat if they use that knowledge to grow.