Virtue

All that remains after
Fire and flood
Testing the framework
Testing my blood

The code is of virtue
I have a strong hold
On what it must feel like
To be valiant and bold

I no longer doubt
What I am made of
I feel the perfection
Of darkness made old

The newest obsession
Is of goodness and deed
Born of complexity
Ego and greed

No one can know virtue
Until one has bloomed
From dirt and adversity
To wholeness now plumed

The newness of virtue
The foundation of strength
The confidence of wisdom
Earned and not faked.

-Kelly Voelker