Great Ends Require Great Sacrifice

February 17, 2020

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is politics, in honor of Presidents Day, which is this year celebrated today, February 17.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com .

A poem for George Washington’s Birthday about the need for sacrifice in both leaders and followers:

Great ends demand great sacrifice,

Else the dream becomes a debt.

Open hearts will pay the price,

Redeeming loss without regret.

Great leaders also make demands,

Else the mandate turns to dust.

Willing minds find willing hands,

As courage shared engenders trust.

So a nation moves ahead,

Having found its avatar,

In hard times hungry to be led,

Navigating by its star.

Great followers must take great care

To choose a leader who will be

Out of love and duty there,

Not shy, but still reluctantly.

© by Nicholas Gordon

If you enjoyed this poem, please like, comment on, or share it so that it might be seen and enjoyed by others. To see this poem on my site, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/greate.html. For more poems for George Washington’s Birthday, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/presidentsdaypoems.html .

This week’s theme: Politics

2/17: Great Ends Demand Great Sacrifice