Wisdom

In my poems in the past
I have danced all around the subject of Wisdom.
Not because I don’t know what it is,
Although there may be some kernel of truth to that,
But because my understanding of it
is growing with each new Sunrise.

Now I will tempt the fates on a blank sheet of paper
To write what wants to come spontaneously-
To go where no man or woman has gone
An adventurer of the intellectual world of our culture
Blah, blah, blah. -rather than simply forcing the issue
As it is to construct a poem from rhyme or reason.

But this once, I want to fill a void
To repair a gap in my explanations,
One which is likely best displayed
by what is not said, however.

And this very point is the essence of Wisdom.
It is what becomes clear for a reader
after all is said and done.
It is the learning gain, that flash of realization
too often for me transitory,
That waltzes off the page in tune,
but not necessarily in unison
with the inspiring words
Composed so carefully by cognoscenti.

So the risk of writing about Wisdom
Is that by taking off his costume
The wearer is exposed as less than beautiful.
Telling the message of the punch line
usually turns a joke into a story.

And that is the risk I encounter here
In talking about Wisdom,
I may inadvertently begin and end
just showing my own ignorance,
exposing my marvelous limitations;
Which is something I am loath to do.

One might say about Wisdom: It is
“…knowledge gained and used forthrightly
in positive and constructive ways
to help humanity…” so I did.

But does that spark a light of recognition?
Or, simply state in so many words
what can be taken from a decent dictionary.
Wisdom ought to be left mysteriously intact
rather than dissected or over-analyzed

As one of so many abstract nouns
About which Wisdom itself is so well informed
Like Love, Happiness, Contentment, Luxury…
There is no end to the resources these words suggest.

So why should Wisdom, which contains all these
be thought less of, or trivialized by
practical or even complex explanations?
So from here I choose to give it a rest
And simply bring an end to this peroration,
A very wise thing to do!

End

I.J. Hall February 5, 2004