The new idea, as good and right as it may be—
As true and efficacious as any—
And as much needed for life
As light to the eyes
And air to the lungs—
Seeps through the human’s mind
Until it meets regions where
It is turned away
For causes that may never
Be examined by the one
Whose mind and whose objections
They are.
And he may live ever at odds
With the new idea in this way or that,
Even if he has taken up the notion
To be a bold proponent of it,
For he has not asserted mastery
Over his own mind,
And lacks the principle
To prompt him to do so.
Thus is he always susceptible
To the rightful charge of hypocrisy
And to the criticisms of those who
Do not want to like the idea at all.
And his undisciplined self
Becomes part of the very problem
He may hope to solve in this world
And even in his own mind.
