Return Of The Pied Piper

When sick and slick and black as night,
The wicked rats had multiplied,
Had spread like some divisive blight,
When very vile and evil-eyed,
Infernal vermin, mean as sin,
Spread like malignant pathogen,
That's when appeared this blithe and bright,
Light-hearted piper who was pied.

That's when appeared this harlequin
Who rid all wretched evil force,
This dreamy-eyed bohemian,
Who seemingly had strayed off course,
And then had happened here by chance,
Whose checkered coat and clownish pants,
Long tumbling locks and brownish skin
All pointed to some foreign source.

From far out lands of grand romance,
Of roaming gypsy origin,
Came this strange man who could entrance
The vermin with his pipe of tin.
Who said: "I've routed swarms of gnats,
Locusts, vipers, vampire bats,
Believe in me, give faith a chance,
And I shall cleanse you of your sin!"

"I'll rid you of your wretched rats,
Eradicate their demon seed,
If all you ruthless plutocrats
Will pay the piper!" -So agreed:
With that the motley piper played,
And all the rodents on parade,
Disarmed by charming sharps and flats
He lightly piped while in the lead,

All followed him down through the glade,
To where the living river wound
Its happy way through dappled shade,
And were in swirling currents drowned.
But though he'd done his goodly deed,
We gave not what we'd guaranteed,
And so the piper, still unpaid,
Kidnapped our children with his sound. 

And now two rats returned to breed
Inside our hearts, for we had sold
What's most important, in our greed
Exchanged our innocents for gold.
We double-crossed and failed to yield
Our hardened hearts to one who healed,
We paid no mind and paid no heed,
And now our ills are multi-fold.