Metal and cloth...

"Always do what is right. this will gratify some people and astonish the rest."
-Mark Twain


This Badge,

A simple piece of metal and cloth…
By its self it is worthless
To society it is Uncool and nerdy
It is something many strive for
but few earn

My parents pin it on my chest
To show the world what I am
But inside I feel no difference
No emotion of accomplishment or relief from my journey

For the badge is nothing.
It merely represents who I am to every one,
Not who I am in front of my teachers, my parents, my friends
But who I am to every one I meet.
For deep inside me is this holdfast, a safe hold,
In this safe hold are laws
These laws that make me who I am
Trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.

I belong to a small group of people,
People who hold these 12 laws to their lives,
Who when you meet them
They treat you as any man would desire to be treated
But yet they are different than others but you can’t figure it out till you are what they are.

This badge will fade and crumble…
It may be lost or forgotten with time
But it is a blueprint that is tattooed on my heart for all to see.
It leads me on this journey called life

I was not born with this badge
No I developed it
I wrote it with these years of my life.
As I grew from a small chubby boy to a physically strong young man
It grew along with me
The tattoo on my heart darkened with time and will fallow me till my time ends.

This badge is me,
A simple piece of metal and cloth…
But still me
For I am an Eagle Scout and I always will be
till the tattooed laws of my life die with the very heart that beats in my chest.