And let me have all the freedom I need
Let me write my scarred frustrations
on this paper and make the pen bleed
Time wounds all heels and sowing this literary crop unreaps the mighty seed
...
Give me the scorn of the stars and a peak defiant;
Wail of the pines and a wind with the shout of a giant;
Night and a trail unknown and a heart reliant.
Give me to live and love in the old, bold fashion;
A soldier's billet at night and a soldier's ration;
A heart that leaps to the fight with a soldier's passion.