The Trial
A great monk
With some unknown wine he was always drunk
He lived in the company of hills so high
And he could talk to the birds as they would fly
He became a beloved of the king and the masses
His appeal was beyond the classes
There was a rumour all around
And its whisper so profound
That he had come to know what truth was
The stuff with which you could make all the laws
Which was the source of the lasting glee
To all the secrets it was the key
One day when his country he decided to leave
Everybody started to mourn and grieve
When he was about to cross the border
He was arrested on royal order
With the greatest honour known to man
He was brought to the capital in royal caravan
The king and the queen came to the high gate
To welcome the prisoner so great
And he was requested to mount
On the seat paramount
The king himself sat on the floor with his kin
And ordered the trial to begin
“My Lord, this most venerable monk
With the wine of truth he is drunk
Everybody can smell
Yet he refuses to tell
The fact we want to expose
Is that he’s the only one who knows
And he’s the only one who can say
Still, with truth he was caught running away
The beloved of one and all
He was caught escaping through the great wall
He was bent upon leaving
Even as all of us were grieving”
In defence
Against this charge of a strange offence
The monk’s laughter filled the royal courtroom
With the fragrance of an unknown perfume
The king then announced
As the judgement was pronounced
“Our country won’t be the same without you
So, pray give us a clue
Before you leave please write a book
In which we could ever look
Where truth we could always find
O venerable monk, please be so kind”
As a royal guest
The monk wrote a book full of wisdom and jest
Covered in golden hue
It contained everything he knew
The monk was now free to leave
Even though the masses had continued to grieve
The king organised the farewell so grand
And accompanied him till the end of his land
The greatest book ever written
With truth it was smitten
Back in palace as the king read
The last passage said
“Before the ink dries
Away the truth flies
The written word is dead
Truth cannot be said”