Brothers In The Name of Christ

Many centuries earlier,
In dangerous times -
Nine brave warriors formed a band
To protect pilgrims in the Holy Land;
And in the name of Christ they bore
A Red Cross
On their mantles white.

Clad in mail,
They drove away
Elements of decay from the Holy Land -
Until from nine
To a thousand they grew,
Hand in hand with a power new;
A power bestowed upon them
By a secret truth.

They renounced their property, land and homes -
To the thousand gave the lone.
Like to brothers
They fought shoulder to shoulder,
Unto their death,
Holding fast the Holy Land
Until at last
To the Saracens it fell.

And then to the Languedoc
They made their way
Over an entire continent they held sway;
Until they fell
To the wrath and greed of a humiliated king
And the Papacy, which was his puppet,
Against them charges of heresy framed.

And thus came the end for those,
Who in the name of Christ bore
A Red Cross on their mantles white -
The Poor Fellow Soldiers of Christ and the Temple of Solomon.

- Abhishek Takle