ON BRAVERY

The donning of bravery is never slight
It is instantaneous
And of the moment,
For bravery
Is worn
Innocently
And briefly
Much as ideas are,
But like the revealing
Of virtue
So is bravery the brief exposure
To fleeting images
On the microfilm of valor,
Where the individual
Displays
His true colors
With blood
Being
The final rung on the ladder
Of the spectrum's
Marrow
And the place
Where a colorful death
Awaits
Just on the other side
Of blind
Victory...

Tony Taylor
* final edit