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Description
Of Leaders and Animals

The brave, lined in silver,
Pressing their hands deep into their hips
Stand on the mountain and proclaim with all their might
"I shall give all, and die for the land"

And their families are readily expendable
As are their comforts, their commodities,
When the light is shining through the trees
And the horizon is a grassy ridge

But when the moon is masked by clouds
And the ridge is covered in armor and swords
The only thing, indeed, they give
Is wind, behind them, in their fleeing wake

For man is nothing but a dog
Nothing but a stomach and two open hands
And a heart as black as the pivotal night
Yet most arrogant of his animal neighbors

All men run and collide with each other
All lie in the grass with their knives in their fists
All open their mouths, with the truth far replaced
Every promise of honor is context specific

So the virtue, then, of an excellent ruler
Is not one that believes in the good of his people
And pulls the ropes of heaven in response to their greatness
And calls the land blessed by the true, the pure

Nay, a true ruler understands his subjects
And readies the whip, and lays out the hay

Description
Of Leaders and Animals

The brave, lined in silver,
Pressing their hands deep into their hips
Stand on the mountain and proclaim with all their might
"I shall give all, and die for the land"

And their families are readily expendable
As are their comforts, their commodities,
When the light is shining through the trees
And the horizon is a grassy ridge

But when the moon is masked by clouds
And the ridge is covered in armor and swords
The only thing, indeed, they give
Is wind, behind them, in their fleeing wake

For man is nothing but a dog
Nothing but a stomach and two open hands
And a heart as black as the pivotal night
Yet most arrogant of his animal neighbors

All men run and collide with each other
All lie in the grass with their knives in their fists
All open their mouths, with the truth far replaced
Every promise of honor is context specific

So the virtue, then, of an excellent ruler
Is not one that believes in the good of his people
And pulls the ropes of heaven in response to their greatness
And calls the land blessed by the true, the pure

Nay, a true ruler understands his subjects
And readies the whip, and lays out the hay