Death be so cruel
Where is the mountain top

I have climbed the heights
And seen the stars
Yet I hide
In the shadows of time

How I mourn that which was
A golden dream
When youth forsook my being
And lust made mockery
The tenets of divine salvation

Am I so shallow
Even unto myself

My time grows short
And I quake to the memories
Of those other days
When life was fresh
And vigor anew

Will there be a morning
A reckoning
Of that which is good
When justice and treasure
Combine graciousness with tenderness
And holiness becomes
My heartfelt blessing

Or will I forever fall prey
To the lust of a flesh worn thin
As my hope of glory
Fades to rot
In an ignoble silence
Of indignation
The last of my being
Swallowed by vermin
And desecrated to hell