A thousand stories told, both true and make-believe,
Ten thousand to redeem, the heroes’ lives to give,
A plethora unknown, to pay a ransom-price,
As images of One, in blood and sacrifice.
A captain’s crashing plane or choice to end a fight,
A general’s surrender, clinging to the Light,
A Chosen Boy who Lived, who later chose to die,
Smashed wand and shattered sword and siblings saved thereby.
A colonel’s stalwart stance despite a grievous wound,
A half-elf’s risky quest, where succor may be found,
A prince and high-school boy give up the ones they love,
A knight risks all, securing justice from above.
Three soldier bands who fight to buy their allies time,
And vigilante groups who battle endless crime,
A great detective falls and proves his burning heart,
An agent, cynical, still bravely plays his part.
A lawyer’s final choice is of his deeds far best,
A captain-general fights, though arrows pierce his breast,
A wounded knight gives succor in true gallantry,
And watchmakers risk much on faith and secrecy.
A scientist dies well in noble suicide,
A runner falls protecting him who changed his side,
A father’s love believed that he could save his son,
A Roguish band held on until the task was done.
A centaur brave expounds upon a noble death,
A wizard buys one, willingly, with his last breath,
A king, defeated, seeks the Enemy to slay,
A hobbit and his gardener choose the weary way.
A rich man blithely takes the world’s mockery,
Another cedes his all to set his city free,
A third would give his life, despite his selfishness,
The last, in desperate bargain, risks unending death.
A daughter took her father’s place in battle-strife,
A Vulcan deemed his crew worth more than his own life,
A king in exile tore his bonds to save his friend,
And duty’s call and fire’s burning to the end.
Upon the Table blood is spent in traitor’s stead,
A Ransom’s heel bleeds to crush the Un-Man’s head,
Upon the Hill of Skulls One paid the utmost price,
The Type they all reflect, in blood and sacrifice.
Reference Explanations
Stanza 2
- Steve Rogers (Marvel Cinematic Universe – Captain America: The First Avenger and Captain America: The Winter Soldier)
- Obi-Wan Kenobi (Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope)
- Harry Potter (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows)
- Edmund Pevensie (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe) & Anna of Arendelle (Disney’s Frozen)
Stanza 3
- Joshua L. Chamberlain (Colonel in the Army of the Potomac, Battle of Petersburg)
- Eärendil (The Silmarillion)
- Thor (Marvel Cinematic Universe – Thor) & Peter Parker (Spider-Man, 2002 and Marvel Cinematic Universe – Spider-Man: Homecoming)
- Ivanhoe (Ivanhoe, Walter Scott)
Stanza 4
- Spartans at Thermopylae (Persian Wars), Texans at Alamo (Texas War for Independence), & The Army of the West at the Black Gate (The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King)
- Bat family, Super family, Flash family, Arrow family, etc. (DC comics)
- Sherlock Holmes (BBC Sherlock – The Reichenbach Fall)
- Everett K. Ross (Marvel Cinematic Universe – Black Panther)
Stanza 5
- Sidney Carton (A Tale of Two Cities)
- Boromir (The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring)
- Sir Philip Sidney (Battle of Zutphen)
- Ten Boom family (The Hiding Place)
Stanza 6
- Otto Octavius (Spider-Man 2, 2004)
- Pietro Maximoff (Marvel Cinematic Universe – Avengers: Age of Ultron)
- Han Solo (Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens)
- Rogue One crew (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story)
Stanza 7
- Roonwit (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Last Battle)
- Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows)
- Fingolfin (The Silmarillion)
- Frodo Baggins & Samwise Gamgee (The Lord of the Rings)
Stanza 8
- Percy Blakeney (The Scarlet Pimpernel)
- Bruce Wayne (The Dark Knight Rises)
- Tony Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe – The Avengers)
- Stephen Strange (Marvel Cinematic Universe – Doctor Strange)
Stanza 9
- Fa Mulan (Disney’s Mulan)
- Spock (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan)
- Finrod Felagund (The Silmarillion)
- Gaius Mucius Scaevola (Livy’s Early History of Rome) & Gandalf (The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring)
Stanza 10
- Aslan (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe)
- Elwin Ransom (Perelandra)
- Jesus Christ (The Bible)