I’ve pinned myself with charcoal to a board
and followed all propriety,
Can I not yet play another chord?

You, whose name men will later hoard,
have abandoned me with no anxiety,
I’ve pinned myself with charcoal to a board.

Of the world you are now lord
and I watch from the walls, quietly.
Can I not yet play another chord?

I thought by now I would have soared,
escape all constraints of society.
I’ve pinned myself with charcoal to a board.

You, who once I adored,
have left me frozen unjustifiably.
Can I not yet play another chord?

You have the world at your feet, unexplored,
but I will remain here, reliably.
I’ve pinned myself with charcoal to a board.
Can I not yet play another chord?