I stand before a splintered door
Into a rotted hall
Where holes and cracks infest the floor
And mold, the nearest wall

I wonder what transpired here
Before the hall’s demise
If it was home to mirth and cheer
And seen by many eyes

It matters not, not anymore,
To this impatient world
That this hall and its splintered door
Are home to mirth and cheer no more
Instead it’s where the beetles bore
Their little legs uncurled

A frightful dream awoke me late
Last night ‘neath starless skies
I dreamt my pride I could not sate
Till I was Earth’s most wise

This fruitless task had driv’n me mad
Till wisdom distant laid
Such arrogance unfettered had
My modest mind unmade

And then I woke, in fear and sweat,
One of the crowd once more
Unsure of much with one thought set:
Let me but be a bore

Weeds tumble ‘cross the winding road
Beneath this starry sky
Where sweating men have their pains towed
Sweating men such as I

For at road’s end a promise lies
Of riches great beyond
For those men loyal, true, and wise
And free of earthly bond

As love surrounds me so does hate
Pervade the world outside
May close-held love alleviate
The worst of man untied