Wisdom is more Becoming
Viewed at Distance than at Hand²
We are always Seeking – but never
More than very Dimly Seeing Wisdom³
Wisdom is a Favoured Guest and Hunted⁴
This Year’s Wisdom is Tomorrow’s Folly⁵
The light of Wisdom falling upon a Fool reveal,
Together with Folly – the austere outline of Truth⁶
Nearby in the Gutter, Common Wisdoms Wriggle⁷
Hours of Folly are Measured by the Clock –
But of Wisdom, no Clock can Measure⁸
We have a Fire in our Hearts, Desiring
The Deathless Qualities of Wisdom⁹
Wisdom is justified of her Children¹⁰
¹ Dogen Zenji tr. unknown, quoted in Introduction to The Essential Dogen
² Emily Dickinson, I Worked for Chaff
³ Gertrude Stein, Three Lives
⁴ Edna St. Vincent Millay, To a Friend Estranged from Me
⁵ Yoruba proverb
⁶ Iris Murdoch, The Black Prince
⁷ Paul Celan tr. Nikolai Popov & Heather McHugh, In the Most Remote
⁸ William Blake, Proverbs of Hell
⁹ St. Augustine tr. unknown, Confessions
¹⁰ Matthew 11:19 (King James)