1862 - To Himself

 

 Image: ChatGPT but with a little human intervention

The Sunday Whirl presented these twelve words for us to use in a creative writing piece.  

beam blunt works moment own shape ancient envy truth scroll shift fluid

To Himself

During a rare moment,

Sitting on his own, 

Possibly in a campaign tent,

Likely at a battle front,

The most powerful man

Of his day sits to write.

Not on a royal papyrus scroll,

On a wax tablet with a stylus.

Does he, like Sun Tzu, write works

Of battle strategy and planning?

Of court politics and intrigue?

Of future empire building?

To put the truth bluntly: No.

He works to shape himself,

To build an ethical inner citadel,

Where self-control is the walls,

Compassion and kindness the beams.

A structure to counter envy, sloth, and pride,

To shift focus from without to within.

This ancient scribe, an emperor,

The wearer of the royal purple,

Is writing to himself, directly.

And, unknowingly, indirectly to us.

Time and events are fluid, shifting,

But his wisdom is eternal.

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