A CALL TO WARRIOR-POETS (Pt. 1)

This is an account of (King) David's mighty men... and there was joy in Israel.

 Chronicles 11:11, 12:40

My first brush with the term Warrior-Poet came in the postscript of the movie Braveheart. In voice-over narration, William Wallace gives account of the Battle of Bannockburn, saying: "In the year of our Lord 1314, patriots of Scotland, starving and outnumbered, charged the fields of Bannockburn. They fought like warrior-poets, they fought like Scotsmen, and won their freedom."

https://youtu.be/VFKdiU-ubuI
Bannockburn

The concept of warrior-poet struck me. It has been embedded since.   

The title of this little post is A Call TO Warrior-Poets. It is not, A Call FOR Warrior-Poets. (I learned a long time ago prepositions matter.) Why the distinction? Because warrior-poets are not specially made up heroes - out there somewhere. Unlike Clint Eastwood's Pale Rider, preacher-gunslingers are not going to ride in to save the day. Warrior-poets are normal men... suburban dads and urban millennials; guys gracing the aisles of the local Autozone, pulling daughters' ponytails through scrunchies, mowing lawns in out-dated cargo shorts (socks and sandals), and sitting behind desks.

This post is not intended to be a testosterone-filled rant advocating blood, guts and violence. Nor is the call to don kilts and paint faces blue, though it might be fun. This is a call TO warrior-poets. And the point - if I have one: There is warrior-poet in each of us. It is time to (metaphorically) paint our faces.


Our culture bows to would-be-warriors. These are ones who speak loudly, who make bold, blustery declarations. They seize and hold power they do not deserve. And they exercise that power to their own ends. We see them in every facet of culture. They hold political office. They run up and down fields and courts. They make and star in movies. Sadly, they sometimes stand behind pulpits. But these are not true warriors, and far from warrior-poets. They proclaim victories as their own that others have fought. Their self-aggrandizing boasts, means and motives damage others. And this is anything but warrior-poetic. 

The great thing about a blog is that I can be incomplete with it... and so I will be. These are just first thoughts - maybe not worth reading. Hopefully more will come. I'll wrap up with a couple thoughts on the distinctions of warrior-poets. (Please feel free to lend me some of your own.)

Distinctions of Warrior-Poets (a few... more to come)

Warrior-poets embrace peace, but will tenaciously fight for those they love.
Warrior-poets believe the only life worth living is one lived for something larger than themselves.
Warrior-poets bleed (sometimes literally, usually metaphorically) for the sake of others.
Warrior-poets are not self-professed.
Warrior-poets rise up when it is easier to bow down.
Warrior-poets are works in progress...

Oh, and the Bible reference at the top? We'll get to that next time.

From one WP (in progress) to another, for now...
D