At Death’s Door
The hangman’s noose tightens ‘round my neck
My throat constricts as I squeeze out my last breath
A whisper of longing for love still unknown
Nothing more shall I know but the ground beneath stone
One last taste of wine they granted me kind
As the man in black came to pay me
In death for the crimes that I gladly name mine
The minstrels will sing songs of my traveling
I fought and I schemed and made other men bleed
And protected those who proved deserving
With knife and with sword and the quick witted word
It was the humble, and loved I was serving
So take me, death’s shadow
I have long proved my worth
and have danced with the end
Since the day of my birth
