He chalked up to mystery some things
That might otherwise have been solved,
Even as he considered solved some things
That God had intended still to be mysteries.
But he just loved that chalkboard
And the power he felt in checking things off
And sorting them into categories―
The power of conquering the unknown,
Not with study and reflection, mind you,
But merely by labeling them as this or that,
As if he really knew anything.
From where we sit, we can see that
Counting the knowable as mysterious
Saved him from work,
And counting the mysterious as settled
Saved him from humility.
