I

I would not trust a teacher

Who is not willing to run ’til exhausted

Through the streets

as if chasing and being chased both,

To make a fool of himself in such a fashion

That his audience may actually find him a fool,

Or a traitor or a blasphemer,

And not, clearly, a deep-thinking poet

Cloaked in the fashionable garment

of risk.

No, I would not trust anyone for advice

Who has not been lost, and afraid,

In the woods behind her own home.

Who knows a storm — and its passing —

Like either a mad man or

Someone who’s bound herself

in some very unlucky predicaments?

II

A fool will act without consideration.

An intellectual will make guesses with firm foundations.

A spiritual person will disguise her real desires

and intentions.

A true sage will stand with you in the fire

And not try to talk you out of it

one inch,

Nor speculate on the nature of ash

or even the water

or what will quench what.

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#poetry

Inspired very much by a recent interview I heard — and really resonated with, loved — with Ido Portal: http://www.thehumanxp.com/episode-105-ido-portal/