“If as a weary man you fail
in deed and injustice prevails,
blot out remorse for wrongdoing;
when the sole worst begets
an even greater wrong
to tempt already laden thoughts
of evildoers, what have they received
when they’ve already deceived
their consciences? Admit lust
for sin, and wholly trust
that in secret abides
a love for such. Never hide
behind regret for history
when lessons must accompany
the pain of morals dropped.”
Here the speaker stopped
his discourse and turned
toward his lone student. “Learn
not what makes a man hate his own,
but listen to the jealous tone
with which he watches snowy fields
in winter; cold men never yield
to reason, but to fright
they lend all frozen might.
Just like the cold man, those
who whisper in bare prose
of deeds past done in hate and rage,
lie subject to a written page
holding them between bars.
The hearts that bear some scars
should not regret to likewise die.
In this, then, does my lesson lie:
’Tis better to let old wounds heal
and stop their itching than to peel
the scabs and make them bleed
for longer than they need.”