A Lesson Perhaps - Kaleidoscope

The early morning castle stirred

The King of the forest stared vacantly

Toward the east

His bloodshot eyes caught no reasoning

A lazy fly landed on his suit of velvet

And he cursed the creator

Like an unwanted shadow

The Queen of conscience entered the already broken morning

She spoke, «Eat my master»

The king moved to a coffin corner

Where another lazy fly contemplated the dust of time

«Bring me a kingdom and I will eat,»

His voice disturbed the dust and the fly

«I am without power to bring you power,»

The Queen sighed like an autumn breeze

«Then I will not eat.»

The King moved to his guilty throne

And seated himself among his ancestors

«My King, if you want respect and admiration

If you want a kingdom and power

If you want money and love, if you want respect and admitation

Then you must go out, and you must take it.»

The King stared vacantly to the east

And a dozen flies waiting in the dust stared back

«I am the King, it is not my part to capture and claim

It is my people’s duty,»

The Queen cried and the little crystal tears tickled her cheeks

She brushed them away angrily

«You have no people, and while you remain the ghost of the past

You will never have people or a kingdom,»

She ran from the patchetic chamber

A fly left with him

The king breathed and though deeply

«I will have people,» he said nervously to his conscience

«I will have people.»

The King of the forest never rose again from his guilty throne

And the dust and the lazy flies lived on him

And the King lived on his dreams

And died on them