Audra Larkin Poet Rhyme

Notes About The Poem

Service does not end when the uniform is folded away. For many veterans, the oath they once swore continues to guide their actions, values, and sense of duty long after active service has passed. This poem speaks from that enduring place where loyalty, sacrifice, and remembrance remain constant, even as time moves on.

A Veteran’s Creed is a declaration of identity shaped by service. It honors those who served before, those who stood side by side, and those whose stories live on through memory and tradition. The poem acknowledges both pride and cost, recognizing that strength is forged not only through duty fulfilled, but through the burdens carried quietly afterward.

This poem asks readers to look beyond appearances beyond age, rank, or ceremony, and understand that being a soldier is not simply a chapter in life, but a lifelong commitment. It is a reminder that service leaves a permanent mark, and that the heart of a veteran continues to march forward, guided by honor, resilience, and an unbroken creed.

A Veterans Creed

I walked a line while others slept. 
A sacred vow sworn by depth. 
Through many storms at home and away. 
I served with loyalty. 
Which remains to this day. 

Not for glory, not for fame. 
But for the flag and our country claim. 
Each trip away, near or far. 
Was for the flag on which I swore. 

I honour those gone before. 
The boots that touched this sacred floor. 
And those beside me, front and back. 
Courage the echo from the pack. 

The uniform now packed away. 
But the oath I took still here today. 
I march with strength, and with grace. 
A veteran’s heart pride and place. 

I’ve bore the cost that service staked. 
I fold the flag for others rest. 
For comrades and their stories left.
 
Scars so deep and buried low. 
They visit nightly just to show. 
Hear me know as I say loud. 
I will not ever bend. 
I will not ever fall. 
Duty is answered when she calls.
 
A veteran’s journey is never done. 
And the comrades alongside.
Will march right on. 
And when you see me old or grey. 
Marching proud on a parade. 

Judge me not for you don’t know. 
The journeys pain or the loss that came. 
A soldier I will always be. 
Now guided by a Veteran’s Creed.

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Angela Terry January 21, 2026 at 1:17 PM I'm an American, and I believe that the veterans in my country would love this poem. No one truly respects what these veterans have to endure for our freedom.

John Gondolf January 2, 2026 at 6:35 AM Audra, your poems honoring those who protect and defend our freedom have touched me deeply. Welcome to Poetry Soup. John Audra Larkin January 2, 2026 at 7:01 AM John thank you for your lovely words. They mean a lot.