hhero

The lights dim and the arena roars
He steps out on the ice like he has a thousand times before
He looks around him as his fans all cheer his name
He knows he has to have a �perfect� game
No glitches in the armor this night
He skates towards his zone and prepares for a fight

Looking around as he has every game all season
He searches for a rhyme, a reason
A purpose to fix in his mind along with winning the game
A perfect smile to help him stay in his main focus frame
He spied a small child holding a sign
Saying I love you and clapping in time

That�s the one he said as he prepared his net
And placed the child�s small face in his head
The buzzer sounding as the game starts
As he makes his first save the child�s face in his heart
He thought of how he�d feel when he�d go
To the rink to watch his hockey hero

How he used to cheer when he saw the man
He always jumped from his mom�s arms and ran
And he�d ask the man �Please sir would you sign?�
And he always obliged and smiled all the time
And he remembered the feeling he had when they met
A feeling he knew he would never forget

And though his mind drifted his game stayed in line
He watched the puck closely, it would NOT find the twine
He made save after save and continued to drift
When he was a kid there were heroes like him
Heroes who knew what it took to be tough
Yet always with hearts that were just big enough

He stole a quick glance at the child and the smiles
And remembered his own as HIS hero walked by
And he remembered the words that the hero spoke
�Son when you grow up you can be like me.
Just be true to yourself and keep your goals within reach
And remember that with love and caring you tea�

�Remember that you are setting a trend
for many young boys who will one day be men.
Take them to heart. You can never stray far
Remember who you are.�
And know that with hard work and just a bit of play
You could very well be in my place one day.�

Looking up with the clock running by
He saw how his hero predicted his life
He saw in the child�s eyes that same adoration
That wide eyed glimmer the fascination
He knew that HE was now the hero in goal
And he�d be the one that assumed to role

And as the clock ticked off the last second of play
And the buzzer sounded he made his way
With the game puck in hand to the small child he skated
And he saw his excitement become escalated
He smiled as the boys eyes grew as large as the puck
He knew that this game was not won by luck.

And he handed it to the child and said �Thank you son�
It�s because of you that this game was won.
Without your smile and cheering me on
I would have not been there to grad hold of this one
And the child�s wide eyes looked upon him skating away
He knew he had become his hero that day

He went to locker and began getting dressed
His heart filled with pride from the way he�d been blessed
And an old beat up picture hung on the inside of the door
The same one HIS hero had signed years before
And he laced up his shoes and headed out to his car
A smile came across as he spied from afar

The small child held by his mothers arms
And he jumped from them and ran to the car
He said �Sir would you please sign this�
The child held out a picture. He looked. It was him.
He took it and signed it and handed it back
As the child smiled from ear to ear and said �Thanks�

He got in his car and began his trip home
His heart just felt good and he felt he had grown
In the eyes of a child he had seen a piece
Of his own life from long ago he believed
And he turned on the radio just in time
To hear on that night that his hero had died

And while he was saddened by the news
He knew that his fate was to fill those big shoes
And he heard the words that his hero once said
They ran over and over inside of his head
He said �We don�t last forever but one day you�ll know
That heroes live on deep inside of your soul�

So from that night on whenever he�d see
A child waiting for him he�d stop joyfully
And he became the hero that night at the game
He knew his life would not be the same
And he knew that his own hero never really died
Because he carried his heart and his soul deep inside.