They placed laurels on my head. A garland of conquest. A noose spun from debts unpaid. A crown, they said. A crown! As if it did not tighten with every step. Shackles dressed in gold. Chains hidden beneath cloth and silk. They built their kingdom on the backs of men like me. They wrote their laws into my ribs. They took my prayers. How wretched they are to called it tribute! And I gave it freely. Like fools! Like zealots! I turned my hands to the wheel and watched it grind my eden into nothing.