Should have told us that the good Lord giveth
Only what he will take away
& what we reap often has little to do
With what we sow; or how a harvest
Can be plentiful or not at all
At the whims of mad men & kings
The same sort which lie by the roads at night
Waiting for a lonely weary traveler, to show
How barbarism, not valor or virtue, rubs off
The easiest, like poison ivy & poison ideas
The very worst of which are more craven than ever
These are the things that terrify — like power
In the hands of a tyrant prince
New to the throne & anxious to leave an impression
On all that surrounds him: men, earth, waters, & the heavens
