42033 - The time of war

N. Lygeros
Translated from the Greek by Athina Kehagias

The siege went on for years because no one dared
to challenge barbarism head on.
But the Thousand Year Man had now made his decision.
He had come from foreign lands and from the past
in order to support the fighters of freedom
even though he expected nothing from them
as he was here only to help
and not to gain some reward
after all it was known to them, as they knew
what he had done in the past for their own
in a yet more distant regions.
He didn’t want cowards with him, only the fighters
because the fight would be violent and inhumane.
Only those who could endure would remain by his side.
He had brought weaponry because the heads of Lernaia Hydra had to fall
and every neck which would dare raise up had to be burned down.
When they saw him, even his own were scared.
Never before had they seen this glance.
They merely knew it from past testimonials.
It was the first time they were piteous towards their enemies.
In fact, they appreciated that the best that could happen
was for them to die as quickly as possible
so as not to suffer so mercilessly
from the wounds that he would cause them.
The eyes emitted sparks, but they were not enraged
and they knew that this was even worse.
Because he would be merciless and nothing would stand upright
from what the enemies had resulted to in order to establish themselves.
They had never learned what revolution really was all about
they were merely radical and how could they’ve imagined
what awaited them as soon as they faced him.
They had never caught a sword in their hands
and they assumed they were warriors.
Things would’ve changed permanently
because he wouldn’t forgive any traitor
he had not come for that, but to put an end to them.