“I once had four brothers, and now I’m not even a brother.” ~Kevin Von Erich

Survivor

This is the legend of a man
Whose brothers numbered four
The five performed for thousands who
Did admire and adore

The eldest was the Yellow Rose
Of Texas, big bad Dave
This ornery tall cowboy was
Rambunctious, just and brave

Second was the Golden Warrior
Kevin, more soft spoken
The graceful barefoot hero whose
Focus and poise were token

Brother number three was Kerry
Muscle upon muscle
In the gym, the Modern Day
Warrior showed great hustle

Brothers number four and five
Were Michael and young Chris
They both possessed the same heart which
Nobody could dismiss

At first it seemed the tale would be
About a dynasty
The legend of five brothers and their
Endless winning spree

But life does not always work out
Exactly how it’s planned
This legend was not of success
But what one can withstand

The first to go was Yellow Rose
And thousands came to mourn
But no one took it harder than
The four who had been born

By the same mother, and three years
Later Michael followed
Leaving three remaining brothers
Feeling as if swallowed

By grief, despair and sadness and
In four years Chris fell too
The youngest of the boys had let
Too much heartache accrue

The pair of brother warriors
Remaining tried their best
To persevere, but Kerry had
Endured an extra test

He’d wiped out on his bike and lost
His right foot so his pain
Was physical as well and led
To drugs which strength did drain

And two years after Chris had died
The Texas Tornado
Had fought as long as he could and
Felt it was time to go

Shortly after that, their father
Joined his boys as well
Leaving one survivor to
On whole tragedy dwell

For years the crowd would wonder how
Much longer he would last
Rarely had one person had
So much sadness amassed

But years went by and legend changed
To one of strength and hoping
All by himself this survivor
Wrote a legend of coping

An influential lore of how
One must let go, move on
No matter what you lose, tomorrow
Always brings new dawn

A legend of the power of
Not focusing on loss
Finding peace and strength from friends
And the Man on the cross

Being grateful for the things
That still remain in life
His faithful fans, his children and
For thirty years, his wife

This legend of a survivor
Should serve to carry you
In times of tragedy and loss
It’s helped me carry through

And though the Golden Warrior
Is a brother no longer
He’s been blessed as a father of
Brothers making him stronger

Always keep in mind your legend
Isn’t ever finished
As long as you do not let grief
Make your spirit diminished

Survive the trials and the tests
Survive life’s very worst
Survive the feelings that you are
Unlucky or are cursed

Take control of destiny
And with warrior strength
Become a survivor who will
Endure at any length

                                      ~for Kevin