When 'Why' does not explain why
it is not a matter of capitals and commas,
but the inadequacy of written language
to describe, or engage with, pain and loss.
And there is nothing wrong with that.
Inadequacy is common, if not integral,
to human life. It is what should happen
when, for instance, we become the apex
of the food chain and flood the oceans
with inedible and enduring plastics.
What is wrong is when our shame feeds into
our sense of inadequacy, and the two merge
to dis-empower us. When what we need instead
is to do less today but do something sufficient
to prepare for a more modest and active tomorrow.
Folly is bound to follow
when our shame becomes our pride,
and we cannot tell one from the other.
it is not a matter of capitals and commas,
but the inadequacy of written language
to describe, or engage with, pain and loss.
And there is nothing wrong with that.
Inadequacy is common, if not integral,
to human life. It is what should happen
when, for instance, we become the apex
of the food chain and flood the oceans
with inedible and enduring plastics.
What is wrong is when our shame feeds into
our sense of inadequacy, and the two merge
to dis-empower us. When what we need instead
is to do less today but do something sufficient
to prepare for a more modest and active tomorrow.
Folly is bound to follow
when our shame becomes our pride,
and we cannot tell one from the other.
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