The shot was done at point-blank range of fire,
The gush of blood and brains did epically
Throw spatter, bleaching all the walls with red
Of violent life which ended violently,
Exacted to protect the powerless
Recipient of the happenstances as
Great Fortiss, statuesque, did merely stand
While waves of blood did power over him,
Perfusing the frontage of his raiment,
And cov’ring that of Goodfellow as well;
The canvas of their duty’s uniforms
Was painted with the fluid hurricane,
The crimson liquid washing over them
As witness to an act that, once transpired,
Could never be revoked, or watered down,
But merely talked about and considered;
But even as the corpse, now minus head,
Fell limply to the cracked and lifeless stones,
The two Marines were baptized in his blood
And made new men, down to their very bones.