Making of a Hero

2019

John Rocco, Bellerophon Defeating The Chimera

the heat unbearable the sweat dripping into my eye 
it is 
incredible 
this opportunity is once 
in a lifetime 
either i 
die 
or i rise in 
glory 
the sky 
was my 
limit 
or perhaps 
stepping ‘hooves’ to greater heights 
yet as years 
pass 
and memories 
fade 
so will my 
legacy. 
we go on our last mission to rise one last time 
thus our 
fatal flaw 
is always 
the fear of being replaced 
or 
forgotten. 
that journey –  
our last 
because everyone knows 
the king 
always dies 
in the
end

Caryn Ong (Class of 2024) is an aspiring writer who loves to write fantasy tales and use her own unique voice to tell stories. This poem deals with the moral culpability of being a hero.