‘The Joyful Warrior’: A Poem for Charlie Kirk by Adam Wasem

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Joyful Warrior

—for Charlie

Beloved Charlie will lie in state
At rest, beyond the reckless hate
That roils the souls of the wicked, massing
To mock and celebrate his passing.

With nimble mind and agile tongue,
Self-schooled, he dared to school the young
In what their schooling sorely lacked:
A love of country based in fact,
Of God, the dictates of His laws—
The happiest warrior for His cause.

Unfazed by threats, again and again
He strode into the lions’ den
To face down all the Marxist creeds
That festered there like evil weeds
Implanted only to destroy—
Attacks only increased his joy:
A joy that shone so blinding bright
We had scant measure for its light
Except by contrast with the dark
That fell when he fell, grim and stark.

Yet in that dark, across the world
Rise flags of liberty, unfurled
To honor Charlie’s love of life,
Of hope of country free from strife
With problems calmly talked about,
Where violence can’t crowd reason out,
Illumined by a million flames
At vigils, burning in his name.

Forever in our memory now
He’ll live; his teaching will endow
Whole generations with the tools
To stand their ground, refuting fools.
No matter how they spin and lie,
His bold, brave faith will never die,
And when evil comes to cast its pall
Remember his lesson for us all:
When demons take aim to do us in
Meet death, like him, with a joyful grin.

Adam Wasem is a writer and rare bookseller living in suburban Salt Lake City, Utah.