Friday, October 3, 2014

Only The Dead Are Perfect


 

Only the dead are perfect. We can see
   Beyond their end, and map the straightest trail
They could have taken to the victory
   Of all their dreams.  We never let them fail.
The land of Might-Have-Been has many stories,
   But none are tragedies.  We end them all
With happiness, with perfect love, with glories—
   Up comes the winner; down goes the wall.
It is the country where Would Have is king—
   Two words that rule the dead like Should and Must
Command obedience from everything
   That enters life as flesh and leaves as dust:
      The perfect dead, whom we still guide through strife
      To victories they never won in life.


 

Copyright 2014 Matthew J Wells

 

No comments: