WHO ARE YOUR HEROES?
(Les Barker)

Tell me now who are your heroes?
Tell me which have stirred your heart,
How they live and breathe and function;
Tell me what sets them apart.

Tell me; are they brave and handsome?
Are they in the public eye
Or common folk, and merely mortal?
Tell me do they fear to die?

Tell me now who are your heroes?
Some, I know, would canonise
Those whose deeds entangle others
In their own self sacrifice;

Those who meet their fates believing
Human lives are not so dear,
Meeting death with pride and purpose,
Seeking out what others fear.

Tell me now, are these your heroes?
Those who fear and yet still dare;
When we all would flee to safety
Here's the one who climbs the stair;

Here's the one who meets the danger,
Facing death for workman's wage;
Facing death for friend or stranger,
Unremarked by history's page.

Tell me now, are these your heroes?
Decent working folk who fought
And died in fire and dust and debris,
Whatever hell some fool has wrought.

Brave beyond romance or beauty;
Brave whatever brings the day;
Time to live or die for duty,
Do the job and go away.

(A tribute to the rescue workers of New York from Les Barker's website.)