The Riddle
The Challenge was proclaimed throughout the Kingdom of Old
A contest! Whose sole winner would be swimming in gold
An ancient puzzle to befuddle all the sharpest of minds
And cut themselves in their confusion at the starkest of lines
A mystery made to furrow brows, set restless thumbs to fiddle
Seeking the answer to the so-called 'impossible riddle'
'What is darker than darkness but lighter than light?
Has blood, but is heartless, and see's without sight?
Has more weight than mountains but can rise on the air?
More evil than the worse sin but blessed as heartfelt prayer?
What tempts more souls than Lucifer in his Satanic job?
Lower than the lowest beggar, yet greater than God?'
Many contestants sought an audience to answer the Regent
Thirsty for sweet victory but tasted bitter; defeated
I tied myself knots trying to bend my thoughts to solve it
Championed patience over eagerness in this lonesome walk to profit
No local sages Sherlocked a clue and my library was exhausted
I put a knapsack on my back full of hope I be rewarded
Got every tutor at my ear, pounded sand from coast to coast
Learned the scriptures of the Wisemen til I could quote by wrote
Meditated on mountain tops, memorised every crack and fissure
Spent a year in silence to better know the meaning of a whisper
Took honest work to clear my busy head of materialism
Learned the zen of cooks and cleaners to supplement my tuition
Chopped firewood until blisters made constellations on my palms
Until my sweat grew the crops and pain danced up my arms
Fasted for days, emptied my stomach so I could empty my mind
Wore out books on philosophy til pages fell off the spine
10 years fell off the calendar; grey spiderwebbed my hair
And the answer was still a fairy tale trapped in it's lair
Travel magic made my coin disappear and rags of my clothes
A full belly? A wistful memory I dragged on the road
Returned home a broken man, I couldn't face up to the bet
To search for wisdom for years and find I'd never taken a step
"What's wrong mister?"
A kid's voice, a boy no older than eight
Approached my porch as I sat; concern written over his face
Before I knew it I'd relayed this whole sorry story
And then sat thunderstruck as the rug rat solved it for me
What was the splinter in my mind wheedled by this little sod?
The child giggled and said;
'But Mister, NOTHING'S greater than God!'
'I know! But...'
Then it hit me like a bucket of ice
The answer so obvious but it had fucked up my life
'Nothing!' I let out a burst of laughter edged with my pain
Felt the lift of my fatigue, weights of lead in my brain
I'd become the answer! How's that for poetic justice?
Stood at every summit just for a philosophical 'Fuck this!'
I delivered the answer the same day, but couldn't take any credit
It was fool's gold for this jester, and pride would choke me if I let it
And now I've scraped my life together the one thing I learned was this;
Wisdom is a grand thing..
...but ignorance is bliss