04-27-2023, 05:32 AM
Heroic Senses
A poem cannot smell, but it may stink
or show good taste, yet it can never drink.
Its poet may touch earth or grass or stone;
his work can touch his readers’ thoughts alone.
Nor can a writer see what he has wrought
in hearts he cannot view: love, grief, or nought.
So reader, think upon your author’s bind–
blind to his work’s effect on you. Be kind.
And if malapropisms make you smile,
think him a fool quite innocent of guile.
A poem cannot smell, but it may stink
or show good taste, yet it can never drink.
Its poet may touch earth or grass or stone;
his work can touch his readers’ thoughts alone.
Nor can a writer see what he has wrought
in hearts he cannot view: love, grief, or nought.
So reader, think upon your author’s bind–
blind to his work’s effect on you. Be kind.
And if malapropisms make you smile,
think him a fool quite innocent of guile.
Non-practicing atheist