Ode to an Admiral

The room is filled,
Nervous faces full of vanilla ice cream
Some drip of fudge
Hoping what was read was just a bad dream
A bad lie, he cannot die
He must live,
To have children and a wife
He must live,
To have a much better life
He must live,
For it all to be alright
He must live,
To be in the final fight
He must live,
Just because we want him to
The sky is dark
The pleaded request was true
It’s too late now
The soldiers are nearly here
A wraith waits
To take away him held dear
The sword used, the offer refused
Our Admiral lies still
Glee that follows is a misperception
Despite it all,
He has won his promise of redemption