True Seeker

Turning lead to gold was just
a bonus of alchemy’s quest—
the prize was everlasting life.
It seems they chose eternal strife
instead of eventual rest.

No—those were just ideas, dressed
in symbols, not made manifest.
Which cuts, the sharpness or the knife
in turning lead to gold?

He turned away, still unimpressed.
His marching style seemed addressed
to different drum or other fife.
Abandoning scholastic life,
he took the path he found the best
that turning, led to gold.