Flash 1 (Day One)

Olive Trees

Men, men, my brothers, do not fear this mob; don't run. We men are dumb, and we are blind, but we are gristle, we are muscle, heart, unstoppable.

Those out there are nothing special. They live beneath the same sky. We all see the same stars. 

They say their general is a fox who knows many tricks! Well, we are a hedgehog. We know one trick but it is better, and bigger than theirs.

There will be no surprises this day, no miracles. There will be no dolphins on the mountaintops, no chattering Gods, it is all down to us.

When the order comes, march straight, men, your shields held high, and trust your blood. We will go helmet to helmet with this riff-raff, crest to crest.

Stand tall when the blood pumps! Feel the flame beneath your skin. This is for your city, for all that is pure, your wives, your children.

Do not hide. You can lie low when you are dead. Instead, seek out the clatter of enemy arms. Embrace the thing that makes us men. Shout loudly that you will die when you have had enough, but know too, that you will not die.

No-one in the enemy ranks thinks he will not wake tomorrow. Let us correct that.  Some of their men will fall to earth and be picked up, but we will strike them down a second time, a third.

Should we grow old instead so cruel worries wear us down for spite, grieve for the things that rot, look towards imagined bliss, or live now like men, fight like a bitch around her pups

After this, when our tribulations are over, seek water, a bed of grasses, flowers, find a blanket, rest. 

Tomorrow we will drain carafe after carafe of fine Greek wine and remember dead friends.

304 Words