XLIII. This Fire I Pass

This fire I pass, the torch and the staff,
The sword and the axe,
The Roman and Saxon,
My children,
This I pass to thee:
The Land to take Dominion,
The stars to stoke the Heavens,
The fire to gird the horizon.
The hammer and spike,
Ye shall work with great might
To erect and to smite:
For there is no demon,
Whether Cerebreal, Spiritual, or Electric
That we shall not slay
And that Minotaur skull bedeck
Our door post.
Fear not my children!
Your Momma and I give you a legacy!
No legacy born of perfection,
But of the Human Stuff:
Love and suffering, pain, death,
Freedom and Joy.
Yes-this I give to you.
And when darkness
Rears its ugly head
And battledust clots you eyes,
You look back, and you look into
My eyes.
Yes-
You turn and you look into
My greying eyes, and upon my worn chevrons.
And you take that fire from me
And you go on,
You run now,
Go on now,
Run,
Fly.
And as my bones hit the earth,
You do not look back,
But you take to the sky,
For this fire shall live forever.