- 1 -

Once there was
A mighty king
And in all lands of his kingdom
No man lifted
Hand nor foot
Without his say.

One day
He called for his faithful servant
and said to him:
"I shall build for you
A royal palace
Wherein you will sit
Enthroned
In sovereign rule."

And from that day on
When the king enters
The castle of his slave
He removes his crown
And becomes as one of the common folk.

And when the faithful servant
Sees his king
With his royal head bare of crown
And bereft of the golden scepter in his hand
His soul cringes
His compassion overwhelms
He falls from his throne
To the feet of his master.

- 2 -

He is the King of all Kings
The Master of all Masters
His dominion embraces all universes
From the heavens above
To the abyss below.

Here, however
On this grain of Earth
In the domain of your heart
Worm of man
He is a beggar king.
He stretches out his hand
With each imploring pauper.
On every sickbed
For a soothing hand he longs
Together with the afflicted.
He knocks at your door
Together with the frozen wayfarer.
At the gates of your soul
Shelter he seeks
Like a bird fluttering
At the rim of her robbed nest.