for the old ones; for the new ones

Here's to all the habits - good for us, and poor
Here's another still for all the lies we should ignore
New years bring new days and nights;
new battlefields
new resting places
new perspectives.
Here's to knowing Where we Stand
regardless of our sight.

*

These chains that try to hold us;
our beds, our fears, our vices,
They die today.
...and tomorrow too,
if we let them.

Evil will not seek you out, if all you do is sit
purposefully,
naively unaware
inactive
disinterested
lifeless.
He has no reason to seek or to kill or to destroy; he already has you where he wants you;
Lost, blind, disjointed.
But just as the Enemies satisfy themselves on your complacency of heart
your distracted interests
your shallow minded goals
So does the King refuse to satisfy himself on your waning countenance.

There are other Warriors
he says
Warriors that will fight for me.
Warriors that will win when I ask them to.
Warriors that will stand there,
front lines
heart open
vision heightened,
ears: unstopped.

Make no mistake: the battles will be battles.
They will require you to move,
to use your weakened limbs and trust that I will strengthen them:
when I ask to do things beyond your physical capacity.
You will be asked to stand when it seems the oddest thing to do,
to walk when all the world has chosen to lie down,
and to speak louder than the half-truths that permeate the air.
You will be opposed.
But know this:

 Any battle entered is a battle won.