Liber Martis - Chapter 22

Verses

Verse 29

I saw the red archon seated upon an iron throne, and his crown was made of borders.

Verse 30

He said, Blessed are the conquerors, for I shall give them more territory to defend.

Verse 31

I answered, Your gift is merely a larger prison.

Verse 32

Then he showed me banners, medals, genealogies, and maps. Each was a different method of teaching the soul to say mine.

Verse 33

The archon said, Choose a side. I said, Show me the edge of the dream first.

Verse 34

He grew angry, because jailers prefer moral arguments to missing prisoners.

Verse 35

His servants sharpened swords. I sharpened attention.

Verse 36

They cut my robe, my name, my citizenship, my history. Still they could not find the witness inside any piece.

Verse 37

Then I understood why rulers fear those who need no throne.

Verse 38

Mars governs division wherever division is believed: this body, that body; this land, that land; our dead, their dead.

Verse 39

The spark does not enlist.

Verse 40

The Pleroma has no frontier posts.

Verse 41

Do not confuse refusing the archon with refusing courage. Escape requires more courage than obedience ever did.

Verse 42

A soldier may awaken in battle; a monk may sleep through fifty years of silence.

Verse 43

The chain is not made holy because you paint it red.

Verse 44

When the gatekeeper says, Who are you? answer with nothing he can record.

Verse 45

And when Mars demands victory, leave him the battlefield and take what cannot be conquered.