baronessekat | The Legend

On a warm August evening, at Pennsic with no duties
I met up with a Legend, we were both too tired to sleep
So we took turns staring at the campfire through the darkness
'Til boredom overtook him, and he began to speak.

He said "Kid I've made a life, of ignoring people's titles
Knowing by the way they act, what rank they deserved
If you don't mind me saying, I can see you're a retainer
For a taste of you Fiddich, I'll tell you what I've learned."

So I handed him my bottle, and he drank down my last swallow
Then he bummed a cigarette and asked me for a light
And the night grew deathly quiet, as his face lost all expression
"If you're gonna play the game kid, you gotta learn to play it right"

"You've got to know when to lord them, when to ignore them
Know when to walk away, know when to bow
You never count the pearls, when they're sitting at High Table
There'll be time enough for countin', when the event's done."

"I've been thirty years a knight, kid. And a Laurel even longer.
Master of the Pelican, ever since time began.
I've been five times a Viscount, and a baron now twice over
Held all the office, and they don't mean a damn."

And when he finished speaking, he turned back towards the fire
Tossed in his cigarette and bade me a good night's sleep
And somewhere in the darkness, his words kept on repeating
And in his parting words I gained a lesson on The Dream.

You've got to know when to lord them, when to ignore them
Know when to walk away, know when to bow
You never count the pearls, when they're sitting at High Table
There'll be time enough for countin', when the event's done.