Jack Pelham

One could blame God, of course,
That there are on this Earth
So many desirable things
That we are warned
Not to desire.

Perhaps the gosh-awful dumbest thing that
We’ll remember about our time here
On this beautiful-ugly planet
Is how often we split
Ourselves into
Two huge factions
Taking sides in a debate
In which both sides were wrong.

The best argments
Are the ones in which
The truth wins.

And they cast an idol to worship
Thence forward
From an arbitrary interpretation
Of their own choosing,
Giving not a thought to whether
They ought first consider
The other possibilities.

It is difficult to think of a human habit
That is more counterproductive than is
That of operating under a bad assumption.

The whim of the leader
Becomes the very destiny
Of those who follow.

He does not realize
That his every word and deed
Is being added to the record of his life
As if it were his own testimony under oath before
Judge and jury in a court of competent jurisdiction.

Sometimes the hardest words
To get someone to hear are
“You are not listening.”

I sat at that table
And looked you in the eye
As I proved to you beyond disputing
That the man had been lying to you.

He will likely have to exhaust
All his self-congratulations
About what he thinks he knows
Before he’ll be in a spot to consider—
To really consider, I should say—
The import of the questions
That have been put to him.

If pride and presumption rule,
He will learn little.
But if humility rules,
He will be a new man,
Rekindled.