Desiderius

A fine silk-white dream, peddled
Down the street perchance, free
To look at life outside in.

Another stone-walled stubborn day
Dawning, closing, inside out,
And a man within confined.

Here to sleep-waste days away
And nights, with chin-ward knees
And all weight placed upon my heart.

Only in deliriums of the night
I run, free and unleashed - like stray dogs,
In my long-lost kingdom's alleys.

My son, truth be the worst of all!
Not ugly, nor beautiful.
Just borne of days, and time.

And to look back upon that of ours
It is grey truth indeed - like lives
Born shipwrecked, into still waters.

Why do you listen so, Adalgis,
To the sounds of waves?
Escape? Your life is here!

Alas, I should not sleep so deep.
These grey stones be sleeping, too,
And dream no dreams for me.

Adalgis, my son, cannot we
Spring forth, to victory,
From the city of Ticinum?

Our sails see but windless breeze
And flags condemned to stillness.
We shall sink, instead of swimming.

The laughing white-brimmed breakers
Hide below the deep, they hide
Jagged edges, and a stony cold eternal.

It is useless! Useless! What is justice?
To raise up one's arms, and fight.
This justice served to us cannot be right.

Alas, my thoughts now spatter
Like alarmed butterflies
To all eight directions.

O, why dare we only gaze
Into eyes when we are right,
And true, and humble?

But when we are humbled, or wrong
We only see the ground. Adalgis,
Always look to the skies!

Forget the sea, Adalgis!
Forget the crests of waves.
Look up to Heaven - and curse!