Grown gray in serving their beloved king,
And said: "Friends of my youth, manhood and age,
So wise in counsel and so brave in war,
Who never failed in danger or distress,
Oppressed with fear, I come to you for aid.
You know the prophecies, that from my house
Shall come a king, or savior of the world.
You saw strange signs precede Siddartha's birth,
And saw the ancient sage whom no one knew
Fall down before the prince, and hail my house.
You heard him tell the queen she soon would die,
And saw her sink in death as in sweet sleep;
You laid her gently on her funeral pile,
And heard my cry of anguish, when the sage
Again appeared and bade me not to weep
For her as dead who lived and loved me still.
We saw the prince grow up to man's estate,
So strong and full of manliness and grace,
And wise beyond his teachers and his years,
And thought in him the prophecies fulfilled,
And that with glory he would rule the world
And bless all men with universal peace.
But now dark shadows fall athwart our hopes.
Often in sleep the prince will start and cry
As if in pain, 'O world, sad world, I come!'
But roused, he'll sometimes sit the livelong day,
Forgetting teachers, sports and even food,
As if with dreadful visions overwhelmed,
Or buried in great thoughts profound and deep.
But yet to see our people, riding forth,