at the rubicon

the word is spoken and shall not return

we ask permission now freely to speak

none would allow the session to adjourn

 

so little time to express due concern

for those required by fortune to be meek

the word is spoken and shall not return

 

you aren't allowed to cross the final burn

nor see what lies beyond the sunlit peak

none would allow the session to adjourn

 

nor see just what the dignified would spurn

as subject to the militant critique

the word is spoken and shall not return

 

what we have left you may not soon discern

it is not in the class of goods you seek

the word is spoken and shall not return

none would allow the session to adjourn

a sort of understanding

the proper strategy is calm mistake
you march away from the intended goal
and do not seek to exercise control

the most transparent becomes most opaque
and what is partial soon pervades the whole
the proper strategy is calm mistake

only the shark knows what is in the wake
it has to carry out its proper role
consume the body and destroy the soul
the proper strategy is calm mistake

a matter of perception

this is the way in which the heroes wail

about the horrors of the long hot night

we set our best up every time to fail

 

the sweetest water will we find turn stale

and cease to be a source of our delight

this is the way in which the heroes wail

 

you watch as we in doubt and anguish flail

smiling no doubt at such a stupid sight

we set our best up every time to fail

 

it's not a matter of the scope or scale

nor of the honour of the sacred rite

this is the way in which the heroes fail

 

justice and decency are still for sale

and we have someone who we know will bite

we set our best up every time to fail

 

there's not enough to fill a tiny pail

your chance of victory is less than slight

this is the way in which the heroes wail

we set our best up every time to fail