The
keeper of the king's conscience
Has horrible dreams. Everyone
Wronged by the king turn up there
Weeping, shouting, shaking their fists.
Who can sleep with such noise?
Sometimes the King's mother --
Bored with being dead -- comes by,
Dressed in rags, her crown askew,
To ask the crowd if they're crazy
"Can't you see this isn't the King,
But just some poor functionary?
Do you think the King lives in a cellar
Which floods every time it rains?
Does he eat only crusts and soup
Because he has no money?"
"No money? Doesn't his position
Come with an enormous salary?"
"Of course it does. But it's never paid."
"Believe me," says the Keeper
"I feel extremely guilty about that."
Has horrible dreams. Everyone
Wronged by the king turn up there
Weeping, shouting, shaking their fists.
Who can sleep with such noise?
Sometimes the King's mother --
Bored with being dead -- comes by,
Dressed in rags, her crown askew,
To ask the crowd if they're crazy
"Can't you see this isn't the King,
But just some poor functionary?
Do you think the King lives in a cellar
Which floods every time it rains?
Does he eat only crusts and soup
Because he has no money?"
"No money? Doesn't his position
Come with an enormous salary?"
"Of course it does. But it's never paid."
"Believe me," says the Keeper
"I feel extremely guilty about that."
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