There wasn't a moment to lose ,
no deferred questions , no belated revelations,
just those experienced in time .
Wisdom couldn't wait for gray hair.
It
had to see clearly before it saw the light
and to hear every voice before it sounded.
Good and evil-
they knew little of them, but knew all:
when evil triumphs, good goes into hiding;
when good is manifest , then evil lies low.
Neither can be conquered
or cast ofT beyond return .
Hence, if joy, then with a touch of fear ,
if despair , then not without some quiet hope .
Life , however long, will always be short.
Too short for anything to be added .
IN BROAD DAYLIGHT
He would
vacation in a mountain boarding house, he would
come down for lunch, from his
table by the window he would
scan the four spruces, branch to branch ,
without shaking ofT the freshly fallen snow.
I
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