September 2001

We meet our griefs again when work is through

and do with words what little words can do.

A stranger weeps beside us through the night.

Beneath our pleasant sun, we never knew

the dark that hates the sky for being bright.

We thought to build a garden without rue,

to climb and, all-beloved, to reach the height.

Our sins were trifling, the false called true,

a petty disbelief in wrong and right.

For every sin we pay, but no sin drew

these hates. It is our virtue they requite.

Along the shore, the squabbling seabirds mew

at passing ships and wheel away in fright.

We meet our griefs again when work is through.

We do with words what little words can do.

Next
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE

Andrea Grillo and the End of His Usefulness

Joseph Shaw

No one with any knowledge of Roman universities would be the least surprised to hear that Sant’Anselmo,…

Work Is for the Worker

Ricky McRoskey

In these early days of his pontificate, Pope Leo XIV has made one thing clear: The responsible…

Tunnel Vision

Philip Jenkins

Alice Roberts is a familiar face in British media. A skilled archaeologist, she has for years hosted…