After laying down the sword
the self must unhand its shield,
climb from its crust of armor naked and doomed.
Surrender comes not only when the soldier
finds his cause hopelessly lost
but also unworthy, his rebellion needless,
his allegiances distorted, his submission righteous,
his adversary, in truth, his liberator.
And when the armor is abandoned
(per the mystics) the self proves to be
the armor itself – superfluous, illusory,
enclosing an ancient and ineffectual ghost.
O child of God, surrender is impossible without
the solace and beguilement of the Saviour.
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