Song of Sorrows

Mafuschinka the Toad

Chorus: Put not your faith in kings and princes of men.
From dust we all come; to dust we all go again.
All passes away and God alone knows where or when.
Put not your faith in kings and princes of men.

Those there are seeing only the glittering crown;
But gold—like infamy—gained, is hard to put down.
In the bones of the dead clutching wealth is this cold lesson found:
Those there are seeing only the glittering crown.

Those there are seeking only the means to an end—
Redress for some slighting of self or of family or friend—
And so do injustice to those they have sworn to defend.
Those there are seeking only the means to an end.

Those there are questing only for fame and renown,
Yet in rank and adornment immortality cannot be found.
Only our deeds live long after we sleep in the ground.
Those there are questing only for fame and renown.

Those there are who know it is good to be king,
For a king’s is the power to make people weep, die, and sing,
And his right to ignore the pain his capriciousness brings.
Those there are who know it is good to be king.

Blessed be those who know the gold crown’s true weight
And bear it with grace, who can bend but not break.
Blameless and fine are the beds that such rulers make.
Blessed be those who know the gold crown’s true weight.

Music/lyric c. 1995 Karen Kahan

Wyndreth's note--Okay. I freely admit that Mafuschinka the Toad is me, writing things I needed to write at a time when I probably should have kept my mouth shut. Keeping my mouth shut is not one of strong character traits, so there you are.

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