I came in search of the light of tomorrow,
Yet in the depths I found the outer world so hollow, so dark.
I left my home, I left the familiar town,
Dreamed of a free bird’s flight, yet became a corporate pawn.
No longer do I taste my mother’s nectar-filled meals,
When fever burned, she’d lay upon my brow her tender, cooling cloth.
I’d gaze upward only to find her radiant face,
But such a sight is no longer granted to the wretched me.
Now within my own house I feel a stranger, a guest,
On weekend afternoons my only companion is the vast, speechless sky.
With clenched teeth I endure a thousand humiliations,
In my ears still ringing the voice of scorn,
We’ve paid you for this work,
What honor could a servant ever own?
Yet there is contentment, there is the majesty of purpose,
The glow of my family’s smiles,
An unseen flame that lights the darkness of my soul.
From the moment I was born a son, I had already signed that hidden covenant,
Which decreed that a son’s true joy lies in another’s happiness.
As long as breath lingers within this fragile frame, still I shall give.
O beloved family, in return I ask but this,
Forget not my silent sacrifices,
Forget not me, forget me not alone.