On the Mindanao Conflict: Let Greatness Spring

Let greatness spring not from small, but from
Things large and spirit bloating; great men
May both be born, and made, but never
To spring from tiny elfin fledglings.

Let greatness not bestow itself upon small
Men, grating teeth and crazed mien, sowing
Discomfort and poison upon the order.
Nature disavows small that pricks the eye.

Let no one great dare touch the means of the
Small men, neither wage small wars nor cover
Small debts, tainted with dishonor. Let greatness
ennoble even the simple ways. And let greatness

Pour generous value to credit; honor being the
Measure of that. But the small will cheat and
Lie and fiddle, for a measly crack of grain.
Steal, burgle and rob, even tainted air.

To the last of his breath, let the great man only
Gamble, with rectitude to save the realm and
Savaged preys, from abject distress. The small will
Always be wont to kill, merely to gamble all the
hearth’s fortunes away.