The sentinel

I heard the news today, and it felt so wrong

You’ve closed your eyes and fallen, sentinel

 With your legacy branded in my memory

Compressed in a multi layered tapestry

Of words and deeds and unyielding integrity

So I could not cry for you, sentinel

My tears welled up but would not leave, me

I’m holding on to a vision of you, standing

Strong like a rock on the crest of a hill

Smiling surveying and showing the way, and

How to be a better man,

But few would choose to follow

 Your simple plan

 You smiled and walked away to the other side

  With a tinge of disappointment-- in your easy strides

  Vanity never filled your boots to slow you down

  Your thoughts were always free of this world’s complications.

  My tears suddenly fall down;

  But not for you, sentinel