Good one, blockdog.   

Here’s another one, just a little bit more twisted.  & in who’s hands anymore, I wonder?  Read, reread, & reread again until memorized into the minds of hundreds every 12 weeks.  & the last word is … peace!

•

This is my rifle. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
My rifle is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life.
My rifle, without me, is useless. Without my rifle, I am useless. I must fire my rifle true. I must shoot straighter than my enemy who is trying to kill me. I must shoot him before he shoots me. I WILL...

My rifle and myself know that what counts in this war is not the rounds we fire, the noise of our burst, nor the smoke we make.  We know that it is the hits that count. WE WILL HIT...

My rifle is human, even as I, because it is my life. Thus, I will learn it as a brother. I will learn its weaknesses, its strength, its parts, its accessories, its sights and its barrel. I will ever guard it against the ravages of weather and damage as I will ever guard my legs, my arms, my eyes and my heart against damage. I will keep my rifle clean and ready. We will become part of each other. WE WILL...

Before God, I swear this creed. My rifle and myself are the defenders of my country. We are the masters of our enemy. WE ARE THE SAVIORS OF MY LIFE.

So be it, until victory is America's and there is no enemy, but peace!

by Major General William H. Rupertus (USMC, Ret.)

•

…yep ... what defense of home & liberty I still have, be it stick or stone or turbulent poem or the good fletcher’s arrow across my bow, I’d rather have than not have the freedom to choose, but what manner of discombobulated vet on a lunatic-binge walks these streets with the above epic credo running through the front of her/his mind? ….Bugs:  Ehhhhh, (crunch, crunch) what’s up doc?  Elmer:  Wabbit Season!  & what sort of peace is left to what sort of people after wiping out all but one creed?  Shit … is what.  Enjoy the storm, its bought n looks like we’re going to be paying for it for eons to come, ...stifled vanguard