And the Time Is: Poems, 1958-2013

The Fools of God

226 The Fools of God If certain politicians come across as serious jokes, what’s left for you to do but say so while you frown and laugh? Not that it changes anything, but then who knows? At worst it lets you add some further cautions to your creeds. On poetry, carpentry, dance and sports—the art is not to show the art. On help— too much too soon, too little too late. On destiny—life matters more than death since life’s explorable while death’s unknowable and final. On weapons— gun owners should be forced by law to learn to play the violin. On money—what’s earned is truer than what’s gifted or won by luck. On fate—all that we learn in retrospect is worthless in the present tense. Call these the credos of a fool in any commonwealth whose only gods are acquisition or celebrity, and you’d be right. 227 Regardless, when courage or conformity are all the options left, most fools courageously disdain conformity and dare to face the odds. That’s why they’re fools to everyone except themselves. They know they’re closest to the truth when what they say arouses mockery while not a soul applauds. ...