Nathanael's Poem

I'm not sure he would like me publishing this, but I just found a poem that Nathanael wrote for english and it brought me to tears.  I want to share it with you all.

My Name

There has never been a time

That I disliked this name of mine;

I's been  with me since my time of birth,

And I will keep it 'til I leave this Earth.

"Nathanael Clarke Dees" is how I'm known;

This name I've always been so proud to own.

"Nathanael" is for the apostle of old;

"Clarke" to honor a great-grandfather so bold.

But "Dees" is the name I'm most proud to wear;

That name with such honor, I gladly will bear.

The name's origin is Scottish at root;

My ancestors had traveled to this land and its fruit.

We have been in this land since the Revolutionary War;

My ancestors arrived several years before.

We have stayed here since to help this great nation be built;

And now I will be called upon to defend it though I may be killed.

The name we are given, but still we choose its representation;

For me I'll strive to become a defender of nations.

Though now I'm still just a lowly recruit,

My name I'll wear proudly like a suit.

Through honor, courage, virtue and dignity my name will show

That even the lowly among us have potential to glow.