[Music by Thor Georg Buer; Lyrics by R. Michael Cook]
"Tho' much is taken, much abides; and tho'
We are not now that strength which in old day
Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield."
[- Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Ulysses 65-70]
Share not the cup I have wantonly sipped:
the cradle that has been finally tipped.
In fool’s garb do I before thee appear,
with signs and sounds fit for stirring fear.
yet the mask hides what is truly between
my emerald eyes and the j**els that are seen.
First we eat, then we drink,
then we sing ourselves hoarse
to the ever brightening sun.
Tread ye not, now, where I have failed.
That spirit has flown, that ship has sailed.
My feet have failed to dance the steps,
and for bare bones I have loved and wept;
arrayed am I in burning, Trojan gold
for the sake of He who’s name I hold
First we eat, then we drink,
then we sing ourselves hoarse
to the ever brightening sun.