I like mashed neeps and tatties
and odd locutions—the otiose pursuits
of an idle mind in the age of Catullus—
yet, a creature of modest means,
the day I discovered the fear of ignorance,
I asked, ‘What if we no longer try
making our utterances perspicuous to ourselves?’—
fully aware that I can’t quite see the difference
between a rose and a cauliflower.
More words to ponder at maciejmodzelewski.com
[…] not by wisdom do poets write poetry, but by a sort of genius and inspiration; they are like diviners or soothsayers who also say many fine things but do not understand the meaning of them.
Plato, Apology
Although not without its jocosities,
as well as its tragedies, life is mostly filled
with a farrago of inconveniences,
so, with a soft spot for magpies,
while mastering the implements
of idle chatter and flamboyance of gesture,
being the reserved ignoramus I am, I shrug
in front of it, just as I did
when I first met Platocrates—
not with resentment but relief.
After all, he gave me a dispensation
from intellectualism.
More words to ponder at maciejmodzelewski.com
