It lies evident in any thing that a man will undertake,
Some form of art or skill without, 
Success he’ll never make.
And such is true in the thing of war, 
If the thing of war be a man’s thing,
That of physical, mental, and spiritual of heart 
Must be the art 
That to the battlefield he brings.



Physical strength, 
Endurance of the elements, 
And persistence even through fatigue:
Important aspects of the military portrait 
And forever objects of intrigue.



And mind then, too, 
Must be all awares, 
If strategically Man plans to prevail.
A faulty choice here, 
Lets a small enemy possess you 
And bring you down in his trail.



The spirit and the heart, though seeming not so, 
Are doubly important than the former.
If a man is not true to his goals down below, 
Then above, 
Where it counts, 
No real truth will amount.
The heart acts with spirit, 
And the spirit with the heart, 
To guide a soldier in his line,
It’s such things as this 
That great things depend on, 
Like leaving no man behind.



And so further I’ll go with this spiritual business, 
For it’s what truly defines Man in his character—
Things like keeping one’s sanity 
And digging through the shadows
Are imperative to the soul, 
And so keep him from the gallows.



And one last thing yet, 
For there is much color around—
Many perspectives you’ll witness 
In even the most insensitive things found— 
That happiness can be found 
And pleasures can come forth 
In the saddest, 
The dreariest, 
The gloomiest things,
For in battle, 
In speech, 
In personal dreams,
There are many arts of war, 
So let the best of them ring.