To a Friend
Why look far away into the no end
When you can’t view a hill beyond your sight?
Better look within your limits my friend
To distinguish the black from the white.
Walk the distance allowed within reason
And be lidless in your expedition;
Your hopes may star during a good season
Yet may be the highway to perdition;
Look how the years fly and we miss the glare;
Look how a child grows on the ash of the days;
Look at the mirror of life and be aware
Of the gloom ahead and the spreading haze.
So why look away into the no end
When you’re still featherless – should you pretend?