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Pied Piper
Pied Piper in the village square – a man
With a wooden flute and a golden plan –
Whatever are you doing here?
Did the elders panic, call you in
To purge the town of salt and sin?
Are you here to blow the bugler’s call
Enlist us for a noble cause
Or show us more of days to come?
Perhaps, at last, to save us all
From what we’re always running from?
Have you come to lead us all away
Or lead us all astray
(At least a few, if not us all)?
Have you a list of names to call
Or have you been instructed
To simply play your tune
And accept all comers unobstructed?
How will you declare success, Pied Piper man?
Based purely on arithmetic?
By the countless heads you lead away
The burglar, banker, drummer
The muggers and the toughs?
Or will one lonely soul be just enough?
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I have heard the magic of your song
A siren call that strikes the soul –
Have felt the urge to heed, although
My conscience cries out “No!”
It’s simply that I wonder – no, acknowledge!
That it’s better off to lead, than to be led
(And therein lies the struggle, the conundrum
Which so many men have failed to plumb)
Oh, Pied Piper, piper man, you are charismatic
And your song, sweet and clear
Was once upon a time magnetic
But those who have once been led astray
Are twice averse to being played
And the sound of the pipe is mournful more
Than ever it was when heard before
For there’s nary a tune that you could play
That would leave us less forsaken
Than the staggering loss of our yesterdays
That your wicked charms have taken
Copyright ©
John Oldham
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