Louisville Process Theology Network

To the consolations of philosophy

 

 

Thank you

but not just at the moment

 

I know you will say

I have said that before

I know you have been there

all along somewhere

in another time zone

 

I studied once

those beautiful instructions

when I was young

and far from here

they seemed distant then

they seem distant now

from everything I remember

 

I hope they stayed with you

when the noose started to tighten

and you could say no more

and after wisdom

and the days in iron

the eyes started from your head

 

I know the words

must have been set down

partly for yourself

unjustly condemned

after a good life

 

I know

the design of the world

is beyond our comprehension

thank you

but grief is selfish

and in the present

when the stars do not seem to move

I was not listening

 

I know it is not

sensible to expect

fortune to grant

her gifts forever

I know

 

 

W.S. Merwin