The Letter

Today is the day of trial by ordeal

no longer the counting, the wait

Today is the day, that marks the brow

Blessed son of God or mark of Cain

Thirteen long years to stand the test

so many years to find the key

The door is before me, the pit awns below

my brow will be marked for all to see

The letter will come, sheathed purely in white

the words stare starkly in black

too late for the prayers, no miracles now

the tide cannot be turned back

Mothers will pray, but the answer is set

Fathers will stare at the wall

The bright rosy future, the hopes and the dreams

cannot be assured to them all

Who will receive the dark mark of Cain?

those destined to join the queues

Who will avoid the dark mark of Cain?

The favoured, the privileged, the few

The prayers have been loud, these last thirteen years

but slowly the time slipped away

Don't ask the question, the face says it all

For none can avoid this day

The letter sits silent, no hint of its news

Unopened the dreams can continue

But dreamtime must end and the price must be paid

Please God that I'm one of the few

That letter appears like the Angel of Death

Some houses it passes on by

On others it falls, like the wrath of God

Sentencing dreams to die

The letter is here, the answer is near

Will I join the end of the queue?

Will I be condemned to the end of my dreams

or be one of the favoured few?

The letter is here, the price is dear

Innocence laid bare on the altar

The price is set, it cannot be changed

Nothing is left to barter

Please God, I'm not marked with the dark mark of Cain

Condemned to the end of the queue

Please God, I'll avoid the dark mark of Cain

And join the favoured, the privileged, the few