The Serpent Said

In the silence of the night, a serpent shape

Moves its way across the stony floor

In the comfort of your life, the serpent said,

You know that you could have still more,

Picture where you want to be

The door is open wide

Don't you really want to know?

Don't you want to know how it feels

To see if it's all worth trying?

You want to know how it feels

Don't you want to rule the world a little bit,

Who to help and who to leave to swim?

You could better everything, the serpent said,

In your own peculiar way,

History would honour you

No matter what you did

Don't you really want to try?

You want to know how it feels

And see if it's all worth trying

You want to know how it could feel,

In the silence of the night, you lie awake,

Turning over in your mind the words:

If at first you lack the nerve, the serpent said,

You could always try again.

And now left upon your own

Has nothing changed at all

Do you really want to know?

You want to know how it feels

And see if it's all worth trying

You want to know how it could feel,

To be the one.