TOWARD WISDOM

    That we are Homo sapiens sapiens named
    Is something our behavior has disclaimed
    And at the best is aspirational,
    An accomplishment we’d deem sensational.

    Meanwhile we muddle on through mist and haze
    Far off from what may be our best of days
    If we wise up and learn at last to claim
    That wisdom doubly promised in our name.

    Yet to do that, so much we’d need to change
    And our priorities to rearrange
    Because the values of the wise require
    We live by more than whimsy and desire.

         Compassion, fellow-feeling, leads the list:
         What hurts you hurts your brother—so desist.

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