Buffeted and battered,

Bobbing against riptides

And odds,


Reluctant protector and leader

Relentlessly seeking,

Ruthlessly sought


Gnashing and nervous

Railing against a fate

That visionaries cannot know.



Obsolete, and vital,

Unfailing, a constant,

Amid swirling alliances, and bloodshed.



Tenacious and tireless,

Determined, driven by duty

Toward the truth

And the end.