If Life Could Be a Court and We Be Tried

October 10, 2019

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is ethical behavior in honor of Yom Kippur, which begins at sunset on Oct. 8 and ends at nightfall on Oct. 9.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com .

A philosophical poem about guilt and the need to be loved:

If life could be a court and we be tried,

Our guilt could be determined with precision.

Judges would due punishment provide

And close our cases with some just decision.

But rarely is our guilt so well defined.

Underground it rages unrestrained:

Above, defenses carefully aligned;

Below, no faintest trace of them retained.

For those who have such tragedies to bear

And cannot ever know their share of blame,

There is no court but their own hearts, and there

They are condemned to self-inflicted shame.

Such tender souls are fittest to be moved

By knowing that like all souls they are loved.

© by Nicholas Gordon

If you enjoyed this poem, please like, comment on, or share it so that it might be seen and enjoyed by others. To see this poem on my site, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/iflife.html. For more philosophical poems, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/philosophicalpoems.html .

This week’s theme: Ethical Behavior

10/7: You Cannot Think the Book of Life Will Close

10/8: You Find but Little Solace in Success

10/9: You Wish to Live a Long and Happy Life

10/10: If Life Could Be a Court and We Be Tried