To the Despised One

O, foolish boy, you dare to say
That you are a man but act this way
Think not the secret thing is hid
For I know well the things you did

I gazed down form the ivory tower
And beheld the scarlet rose’s bower
And many faces hungered to drink
From the drunk lips and eyes that wink

I saw as you drew near the others
You smote all friends, foes, and brothers
And with their blood upon your brow
You climbed the bower as you do now

But then in the bower of the rose
As you reached out and drew so close
From your hands the blood was torn
As you felt the bite of the rose’s thorn

And fall you did from the rosy height
And the ones you smote mocked your plight
I saw as justice rewarded your lust
And your name was lowered to the dust

But, O foolish boy, you did not learn
For in the secret you still did yearn
And I saw your gaze most foul did fall
Upon the rose and the new one so tall

And when gone was he who took your place
In secret you entered shaming his face
And still more you stabbed some in the back
And with words and deeds you did attack

How I longed then to slap your face
Upon mankind you are our highest disgrace
For with calloused words you tore down all
So that you may seem higher and not so small

Oh little man, you went too far
And I saw what you did in your war
The tall one may have already left
But your acts so vile were worse than theft

For this rose you now climb to take
Was not grown for your selfish sake
But was planted with purpose and plan
To belong someday to a real man

The one who waits so silent but true
With so much character that even of you
He will not speak evil or bring reproof
Enduring, persevering, seeming aloof

But I am his friend and the rose’s brother
I am the bower guard set by the mother
And I have seen you slithering so near
Come to steel what many hold so dear

And now I tell you, oh vile and decrepit,
Be you as subtle or cloying insipid
I will throw you from this high recess
And break body and soul into pieces

O, foolish boy, you dare to say
That you are a man but act this way
The day is coming and is now near
When truth will shine, your lies disappear