hemlock

i was given poison to drink
a chalice
and i thought about everything all the time
and i told people what i thought all the time
and then they gave nothing but the poison to drink
as i sat in my cell, my friends all said dont
i told them the idea of death
and reincarnation and soul
i was not afraid for i looked the emperor in the eye
from my cell
they should have known there would be a coup
and they all forgot about me in various ways
but my followers stayed close and began writing it down
so my legacy lives on
you wont know my name because youth has forgotten
the ways of the mind and being
to take only what is needed
and i fought that and i knew it and i respected it
and now i am a prisoner on deaths door
and i drink the herb, the hemlock
and i close my eyes
and finally, i see my vision