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MY PLEDGE

(T. Beechey)



I found him lying facedown in the gutter, he was muttering phrases in a foreign tongue

He looked young enough to be a fighting soldier, he was old enough to hear the Choir sung

I gently raised his head as he lay dying --- he was crying, asking mercy on his soul

I told him that I couldn't speak his language but pledged I would help him reach his goal



To me, this man, he was a total stranger...how he came to danger was a mystery

I could not see any indications of what placed him in this state of agony

The only thing I really knew for certain: he sought comfort and his name upon the rolls

I told him that I couldn't speak his language but pledged I would help him reach his goal



Each breath he took, you knew, was a struggle as he dug his fingertips into my skin

The minutes seemed to pass more like hours and I vowed to myself once again

That I would stay as long as it required till he tired and his eyes drew vacant holes

I told him that I couldn't speak his language but pledged I would help him reach his goal



Around his throat he wore a silver necklace which glistened in the streetlamps high above

And, covering its clasp in the center, a memento of his one and only love

A tiny diamond ring that still sparkled in a darkness that resembled blackened coals

I told him that I couldn't speak his language but pledged I would help him reach his goal



I could tell by his voice that he was praying, he was speaking words that came from his heart

I started praying as I knelt down beside him to guide him where the Golden Gates shall part

He grew silent then a smile overtook him, he looked peaceful as his bell rang final tolls

I told him in my own native language that I kept my pledge and he had reached his goal



The next day as I read the daily paper, the headline, it was draped across the page

He was half my age and was indeed a soldier who boldly kept on fighting wars that raged

Deep inside his mind without ending till surrendering was how he gained control...

With tearful eyes I spoke now in his language,my pledge now sets him free and makes him whole