They and You

When they said: how could you dare offend these touchy souls so rare? You took away their peaceful idling and kicked their laziness out of there. When they said: you're the executioner, so don't you fool the decent crowd: from words as tangled as a potion the brains go galloping off somewhere. They said: you're far too simple, man — don't rise up to your full height. Allow yourself a little fun, but don't leave your post without a guard. When they said: you're a bone in the throat, don't explain, don't you dare, just drop it. Let your cell stay hidden away, its doors nailed shut. Someday they'll say: he was right, you know, he didn't sell his stubborn soul. They'll come begging for a hair of the dog — lie calmly, like a boa. When they get tired of talk and lose the thread for good, you poke your nose out of the dungeon — and calmly go on living.