Alamentosa

Brought up to beg for bread & water
Raised just to be brought down to earth
I am but mortal man
Never have I been myth nor legend
Nor of blood-red royal birth

Yet never in the field of sorrow
Was so much owed by so many to so few
Still there comes a time when all will find
No sorrow is enough to win you
Or keep it all within you
& all out of view

But nobody will see it
& nobody will leave it alone
& nobody will know it’s true

I only knew that I’d gone crazy
when I no longer missed my friends
For of all the things I’ve gained
I miss my friends the most
And I’ve no right now to mistake amends

O Alamentosa
Though I hardly knew you
I only shared a few light words with you in dreams

From the voice of conscience
Though it may confuse you
For it’s as hard to hear as it is to kill, it seems
unless it screams--

But nobody will fear it
‘Cause nobody will hear it
& nobody will know it sings