Title artwork by Rimel Neffati. Click image to visit her studio.
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Courage, honour and fidelity
Loyalty, integrity and selflessness in others
Spartan virtues, one and all
Spoken by tough mothers to their offspring as the onslaught then commences
This battle rages in young blood, supplies tough love to all five senses
Lending strength not to the weak
For Spartan mothers will not speak of all those unprepared to meet their end facing the enemy
No valor to be gleaned within the precinct of retreat
Fleeing serves no purpose, less it be the course of indiscreetly sorting chaff from wheat
Come back with shield or on it
Prevail or else prepare to fail with virtues learned at the academy of war
Such fabric embryonic as a Spartan child is seldom less than primed on what precisely he is fighting for
Bathed in wine
Inspected for all known defects, effectively at birth
Expected to respect birthright, appreciate their country’s worth
For Sparta, no more beautiful a death be duly granted
Than side-by-side with brother on front line thy feet be planted
Shields raised high defiantly to blunt the tips of arrows
Composed to die most violently to overthrow the virtueless, the shadowed
The nature of the human beast is much like any other
Should fear of death be entertained, instinctively we run for cover
Shy away from conflict for the sake of self-preservation
Cower from our enemies in wake of looming devastation
Not so with a Spartan nation
Courage is essential
Countering the impulses that blunt our true potential
The choice to die with honour and the heart of many braves
Dignifies the fallen, places flowers on their mortal graves
Behold the courage shown within the sphere of conflict, learn the art of war
For the ethos of a warrior is not exclusive just to Spartan lore
Should we strive to live our lives with heightened sense of all things better
Run until our soles grow thick as leather
Then we can bleed with dignity
And lead with perfect form
Hold death in contempt, less it be beautiful to take the final breath
Whether on the battlefield or in the warmth of our own beds
Then shame is left no portal
No face for blame, to faith no end
With grace of God Kings bled
300 reign 10,000 men
And then became immortal
Richard Charles Stevens
Keeper of The Crimson Quill
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What an interesting take on Lucifer, the fallen angel banished to the pits of Hell. For extreme pride, dangerous overconfidence and arrogance. Certainly knocked down a peg or infinite. The reason for sin but what about the free will of man? Is Lucifer overly blamed for man’s shortcomings? I think so. Satanism the only exception. Being brought up Christian this had always been a topic of careful curiosity.
Yes! I was raised in a Christian household as well, and always had it burnt into my brain that he is responsible for every evil. I don’t think so. Not at all. Which is why I have a completely different viewpoint of him.