Summer Days

He watched them grow through the summer days

Till the harvest came in the fall

And he left to gather the maize

And sometimes he would return with a doll

Till the last one no longer crawled

Then he'd return with the tales he had heard

and they'd listen to the crying songbird

But the days were tough and winters long

and famine came along

and the crops no longer grew

and in the village, the people cried

for blood

they cried for blood

Weapon wielding and unyielding

they fought in the arena

as the mighty crowds awaited

For just one man to fall

just one less mouth to feed

But the fights were not to be avoided

For the villagers proclaimed

only the strong may live

and they shall be rewarded

So the father told his kids he loved them

And in the arena stood

And he remembered the summer days

And he prayed he would not be defeated

Not because of how it would feel to win

But because what it would mean to be defeated