In death,
you are born again and will live forever.
Monument or no monument,
you are assured of a place
in the pantheon of heroes.
You need not wait for the verdict of history.
The several souls you saved —
out of sight of the cameras —
are the witnesses and judges
who are, even now, etching your deeds
in the mud-drenched annals of our country
and on the faces of limelight heroes.
