The goddess Athena appeared
and stood beside her.

"Athena, I used to be able to walk in the hills, to listen to the musicians,
to take my little boat along the coast.
I would anchor in a small cove; there I would write,"
the poet said.

"Athena, our council sends ships to plunder other lands.
They say they are protecting democracy in these far away places,
yet here in our own homeland, many of us are no longer free.
They are bankrupting our nation's treasury in order to wage war.
Believing that our lands will be attacked in retaliation,
they plot to seize dictatorial power in the ensuing chaos."

"Poet, why have you stopped writing of these things?" the Goddess asked.

"Athena, they threatened me,
but I continued to write.

When they could not stop me from writing,
they tried to take all the small pleasures of life away from me.
No longer did I dare to explore the coast by myself
nor was I safe in the places
where the musicians play.
I am not the only writer who was intimidated.
Soon the town square was silent.
No one came to hear the musicians,
and the poets no longer spoke to the people of our country.

Athena spoke:

"Poet,
If the poets are silent, the invaders will not stop hurting people.
Instead, from their success in silencing you,
they will learn how to silence all the people,
and in your country's acceptance of seemingly small acts of intimidation
tyranny will flourish.

Poet, listen to the songs of the musicians.
Write.

Poet, if no warning is given,
in the silence your country will be no longer be free.

And what need have tyrants for prisons
when you willingly give up your freedoms?" Athena asked
in the dream.

Ask for sanctuary