The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom.
~ William Blake, “The Proverbs of Hell”
from The Marriage of Heaven and Hell
I use the fall and catch method to
walk.
Balance faltered when I sold my
bicycle,
or vice versa. The more distance I
tried
to cover, the more headstrong and
headlong.
Physical balance declines, but other
hidden powers gain equilibrium:
Passion partners with common sense,
rashness
bows to temperance, and eagerness
waits.
Momentum fights this alteration. Habit
cries out “Get hot” and wisdom sighs
“Stay Cool,”
as if gangs wrestle in my soul. Yet right
sharing of personal resources must win.
Join a protest or write a
poem? Accept
new appointments or practice
saying “no”?
Tell all the truth, or tell it
slant? Provide
an answer or give someone else
the chance?
Read two chapters instead of the
whole book.
Play solitaire for minutes, not
for hours.
Eat one plateful, saving for tomorrow.
Stick to the lesson, not juicy
tangents.
Meditation helps, even five
minutes
a day. No need to crowd and overdo,
substituting falseness for innocence.
Nothing more urgent than patience.
Nothing more urgent than patience.
For my prompt Poets United Midweek Motif ~ Balance
(I allude to a song in West Side Story and an Emily Dickinson poem.)
My blog poems are rough drafts.
Please respect my copyright.
© 2018 Susan L. Chast
Yeah, I agree completely. Ha, there's an endless fight between habit and wisdom in life it seems. Sense of proportion should win :)
ReplyDeleteI love all of these insights into moderation. The older I grow, the slower I go, and that feels just fine to me. Smiles.
ReplyDeleteLuv the summative nature of your Verse 2 Susan
ReplyDeleteHappy you dropped by my blog today
much love...
Susan, your poem leaves me, how do I improve the balance of my daily life. Right now, I don't know, but there is room to do so.
ReplyDeleteLife is certainly a tussle with ones own mind isn't it? I love reading but get frustrated when someone recommends a book and I hate it! What did they see in it!?
ReplyDeleteYes, I'm slowing down too! That's the great thing about retirement, you can do things at your own pace, although I'm just as busy as ever. :)
ReplyDeleteas if gangs wrestle in my soul.. oh yes, that feels all too familiar!!! but is the stillness of a zen master's mind the answer?
ReplyDeleteDifficult choices but that's what make life worth living
ReplyDeleteA lovely poem about getting just right, or finding balance.
ReplyDeleteWith age comes a certain wisdom and we have to make readjustments to many things.Being sensible at long last:)
ReplyDeleteSometimes I think we try too hard to maintain balance in our lives, as the questions in your poem reflect. I remember something one of my high school English teachers was fond of saying: "Let go, and let God." Maybe that's the way to achieve the balance we strive for.
ReplyDeleteAha..what a fine balance! A great tribute and help to indecisive Librans in perennial dilemma:)
ReplyDelete