Antistrophe
Who shares bread generously
the hand that takes will set his silos on fire
Who teaches himself discipline so that he may be a reliable ally
will be led by instructions into the desert and left to die
Who gathers fruit
will be infected by what festers in his cellar
Who becomes strong
he will be yoked
Who refuses ill-given power
will meet closed ears and averted eyes
Who builds a house for another
through the window he will hear flogged cries of slaves kidnapped by the one newly afforded shelter
Who inspires others to join in a promising adventure
his ship will be set upon and stolen in the far open ocean by ghosts
Who changes his rules in order to not throw good money after bad
will be scorned as a glossolaliac
Who explains his thoughts so that his heart may be read
he will be cut open and his flesh will be eaten from out of him with fork and knife
Who prays for a gold ring to hold his care for the one he cares with
his prayer will be heard and answered with a winking traveller selling pyrite
Who studies the law
will be sued by bail jumpers
Who acts according to symmetries in order to live in the world together
will be raped to death in a hall of mirrors
Who lights a candle in the dark
the soot will sting and blind his eyes and it will choke him in his effort to blow the candle out
Who loves his enemy enough to find common depths
his enemy will reach up from within his depths through his own hand and wields his knife so that he strikes himself down
Who collects water to save for dry months
will be drowned in the cistern
Who profits selling desirable goods at the market
will be followed home by robbers
Who grows olives
will feed the empire
Who creates a flavor
will be spat out
Who sings hope
will make his song be noticed as a buzzing noise and make it be cancelled and blotted out and make its memory be buried
Who pulls his cart vigorously
will finish wearing out the axle far from town
Who abstains from intoxication
will be beaten by an intoxicated mob
Who removes his shoes when entering a place of worship
his feet will be putrefied and rotted off by scum brought along on other boots
Who lays down his sword
is stabbed
Who rips a page from his book as a gift to each one who professes to wish for learning
sees all the pages of his book turned to ash in brief flames for passing amusement