Wednesday, June 10, 2026

The Cost of Obedience

The Price of Alignment


The walls had stood
long before we arrived


weathered
unbothered
unquestioned


they had learned
the language of permanence


stone stacked upon stone
confidence mortared in time


we did not bring ladders
or fire
or force


we brought footsteps


and a command
that made no sense
to anything but faith


walk


once
and again
and again


say nothing


not to the walls
not to each other
not even to yourself


silence
is a hard cost


especially
when nothing moves


day one—
they stood


day two—
they stood


by day six
they seemed taller


stronger
as if repetition
was proof
of their permanence


and doubt
began to whisper


what falls—
does not look like this


what yields—
does not wait this long


but obedience
does not negotiate
with appearances


it does not measure
progress
by sight


it measures
completion


and on the day
when instruction
met its fullness


we raised a sound


not of strategy
but of surrender


and what had never fallen


did


not by strength
but by alignment


not by force
but by faith


some things
do not fall
when you fight them


they fall—
when you finally
walk
as you were told


© Ron Simpson Jr. 



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