Whispers in the Court of Kings

Oh, where have the kings and their banners all gone? Their thrones stand silent, their voices withdrawn. Yet one prince walks in the light of the sun, Tanius rides, and his heart’s near won. Sing me the secrets, hum me the tune, Coins in the pocket and knives in the gloom. The players all dance in a court built on sand, Where power is bartered with gold and with hand. Gold in my palm that I never did earn, Yet letters in ashes, they twist and they turn. My father was wise, my mother was shrewd, Yet silence now whispers where voices once ruled. Sing me the secrets, hum me the tune, Coins in the pocket and knives in the gloom. The players all dance in a court built on sand, Where power is bartered with gold and with hand. The lady of Sar, with eyes sharp as steel, Waits for the day when the old lord won’t kneel. She gathers her suitors, she sharpens her tongue, A kingdom’s a prize when the weak are undone.