If the poem ask, what is my beginning?
Its hesitation is the reason for its sinning,
For truth starts right away
To be good. Night at once begins the day.
If the poem ask, why is there sorrow?
Even as you read this line tomorrow
The answer, like every seed, will fall,
And one will grow into many, only to confuse them all.
If the poem ask, is there lasting joy?
This question will annoy
The barren and the sad—
And ruin the joy felt by the glad.
If the poem ask, do not answer.
Treat all questions as if you were a sculptor or a dancer,
Or any craftsman building things in space.
Questions are the weakness of the human race.
If the poem ask, why is there death?
Even as you speak that line with your own dear breath
Meaning will be emptied of its cup,
The line will end, and the grass will spring back up.
