A Last Respite

05 A Last Respite (02:44)

Here I lie a broken man
Haunted by thoughts of what I am
If I die today what words would pass
As my soul takes leave
Of cruelty or compassion
Of punishment, or reprieve

The sleeping beast of karma
Behold the broken sutra

Abyssal torment of the unknown
Strips my body of its essence
Breathe the stench of putrescence

Unknown legacies toil
Abandoned, decay, despoil
Redemption furtive in its last embrace
Disgrace

Changing face of a killer in a cold cell
An old man bound by his own hell
Redemption furtive in its last embrace

Flesh takes leave of mind
Reputation the last refuge of the willful blind
Thoughts unkind
Saints and tyrants, peace of death reminds

Of life, death reminds

Intrinsic anguish of the sight
Of one so cruel transformed in spite
Decades in darkness brought to light
Time's wrinkle smoothed, a last respite