[Lyric] The Fools Prayer (The Duras Sisters)

The royal feast was done; the king
Sought some new sport to banish care
And too his jester cried; "Sir Fool
Kneel now, and make for us a prayer!"

The jester doffed his cap and bells
And stood the mocking court before;
They could not see the bitter smile
Behind the painted grin he wore

He bowed his head, and bent his knee
Upon the monarch's silken stool;
His pleading voice arose; "O Lord
Be merciful to me, a fool!"

’Tis not by guilt the onward sweep
Of truth and right, O Lord, wе stay;
'Tis by our follies that so long
We hold the еarth from heaven away

These clumsy feet, still in the mire
Go crushing blossoms without end;
Our hard, well-meaning hands we thrust
Among the heartstrings of a friend
The ill-timed truth we might have kept-
Who knows how sharp it pierced and stung?
The word we had not sense to say-
Who knows how grandly it had rung!

Earth bears no balsam for mistakes;
Men crown the knave and scourge the tool
Who did his will; but Thou, O Lord
Be merciful to me, a fool!"

The room was hushed; in silence rose
The king, and sought his gardens cool
And walked apart, and murmured low
"Be merciful to me, a fool!"