A Necessary Evil

Have you never tasted hunger Tread the alleys with the stealthy Cried the tears of someone younger While you dined among the wealthy Shuffled through the papers Through the pages of despair Embittered by the capers Neglect, hanging in the air Step with me through the sadness Let me open up your eyes Weave, careful past the madness Past the sorrow and the lies The chains of bondage tighten No future's in your sights Do you wish to be enlightened To embrace those dizzy heights Piled high upon the pyre The lost and the insane The corpses piling higher Entombed in the mundane The root of all that's evil A meaning to their end More money than they'll ever need More wealth than they can spend The scales of justice tipping With the deadweight of their sins The wings of Angels ripping As the final count begins The boatman treads the water As you wade the river Styx The silver in your pocket For to score the Devils fix Lost in this sea of torment While Hell exacts its toll Your name is etched, inclement On His register of souls