Contents

FORTUNE, CONSUMMATE EMPRESS

1. Fortune reigning - 2. Though Fortune showers me with gifts

FORTUNE, CONSUMMATE EMPRESS

1. Fortune reigning

I) Fortune reigning,/Waxing, waning,/Always doing as You please,/You never cease/ From Your caprice./Our luck forever varies./You bring us wealth,/Then with Your stealth/You quietly absolve us./As sun melts ice,/By Your device/So too do You dissolve us. // II) You're like roulette./What luck we get/Is seldom for the better./The more You spin,/The less we win./We stay Your helpless debtor./There's no reward./ We can't afford/The heavy debts we're paying./We always lose,/And yet we choose/To blindly keep on playing. // III) Grim Fortune can/Reduce a man,/Without much provocation,/From ecstasy/To agony/Regardless of his station./Our vain discord/ Won't strike a chord:/Fate laughs as our lives decay./No prayer, no sin/Can save our skin./Let us cry without delay.

2. Though Fortune showers me with gifts

I) Though Fortune showers me with gifts,/Seducing me with pleasures,/I know that Fortune always shifts,/Taking back my treasures./Fortune gets us pregnant, but/Then aborts the fetus./Happiness She should grant, but/Watch how She will treat us. // II) Once I sat upon a throne,/Relishing my power./But even though my wealth had grown,/Soon it all went sour:/Fortune turned and took its toll,/Showing me no mercy./ In the end I lost control,/Robbed of all my glory. // III) Revolving Fortune sweeps the earth,/Without regard for justice./Impoverished men and men of worth/ Equally will perish./Fortune's joys can swiftly stop,/Turning into trouble./All that rises to the top/Soon must fall to rubble.