04-11-2018, 06:42 AM
One of Three
Let us explore that basic trio
sensitive explorers must eschew:
illegal, immoral, fattening.
Sin of pride, of grease and blubber,
self-aggrandized bulging, unrefined
gluttony strikes only at one’s self
and leaves it subject to an eye viridian
with envy. Mere self-preservation, that—
fat’s hardly worth avoiding.
But illegal and immoral - how to choose
a single act that’s one and not
its brother? Easiest, perhaps,
to pick a foolish law and break it
for dulcetly moral or
at worst amoral purposes.
I choose, then, a major misdemeanor:
I deposit, on the sidewalk of New York,
one banana peel.
This illegal action’s consequence
is not immoral - I don’t mean to hurt a soul.
It might even cause a pratfall:
laughter, sweet relief of stress.
But to balance any chance of injury,
I’ll feed my peel’s fruit to
a starving man so neither he nor I
risk getting fat from it.
Let us explore that basic trio
sensitive explorers must eschew:
illegal, immoral, fattening.
Sin of pride, of grease and blubber,
self-aggrandized bulging, unrefined
gluttony strikes only at one’s self
and leaves it subject to an eye viridian
with envy. Mere self-preservation, that—
fat’s hardly worth avoiding.
But illegal and immoral - how to choose
a single act that’s one and not
its brother? Easiest, perhaps,
to pick a foolish law and break it
for dulcetly moral or
at worst amoral purposes.
I choose, then, a major misdemeanor:
I deposit, on the sidewalk of New York,
one banana peel.
This illegal action’s consequence
is not immoral - I don’t mean to hurt a soul.
It might even cause a pratfall:
laughter, sweet relief of stress.
But to balance any chance of injury,
I’ll feed my peel’s fruit to
a starving man so neither he nor I
risk getting fat from it.
Non-practicing atheist