Saturday, January 21, 2012

Samurai Song by Robert Pinsky


When I had no roof I made
Audacity my roof. When I had
No supper my eyes dined.

When I had no eyes I listened.
When I had no ears I thought.
When I had no thought I waited.

When I had no father I made
Care my father. When I had
No mother I embraced order.

When I had no friend I made
Quiet my friend. When I had no
Enemy I opposed my body.

When I had no temple I made
My voice my temple. I have
No priest, my tongue is my choir.

When I have no means fortune
Is my means. When I have
Nothing, death will be my fortune.

Need is my tactic, detachment
Is my strategy. When I had
No lover I courted my sleep.

I like this poem because it truly shows the bare minimum that one truly needs to survive and great control over ones desires and wants. It truly reflects the most powerful and potentially dangerous people in the world which are those people who know their mind and body, know how to use and control it.

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