Monday, September 15, 2014

Canadian Icon

Retired from active duty the man
remains the very picture of
resolute steadfastness, proud
discipline in an endeavour he
loves. Craggy-featured and 
lean-heightened he drives his
mind and body to excellence
in performance. With countless
missions behind him, he trains
those who succeed his generation
instilling in them a pride he hopes
equal to his own. A warrior, in and
out of uniform, he smiles often
his manner gracious not gruff
and his carriage one of civil
courtesy. He exemplifies the best
Canada has to offer in crises
responding to emergencies at home
and courage abroad in foreign wars.
He has seen them all. Now, his
sons, bred of the same steely resolve
represent in turn what he did then.
But he is not withdrawn from duties
he self-imposes, teaching new
recruits, raising funds for the
national Army Run and research
funds in memory of his own abiding
hero Terry Fox, another man whose
purpose in life stimulated others
to practise what he too briefly lived.


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