Take the lessons
where they come,
be it from the lowest gutters,
or the highest mountains.
Learn well what life teaches
and learn to recognize
teachers and prophets.
Life might guide you
into the high tangle of branches
and beyond,
but that kind of freedom
only comes
with lessons learned.
To some,
knowledge is a lodestone.
To others,
it is a pair of wings.
And to others yet,
it becomes
words
to carve
on their headstone.
Learn to do better.
Knowledge is one thing,
but wisdom,
quite another.
Hand in hand
they will take you
up into that high place,
if you honor them
and pay attention.
Find small twigs
and dry grass
and burn your ego
as an offering.
It will not serve you
like it did in the past.
Knowledge is self,
but wisdom is transcendent.
Learn the lessons
of the Earth,
the trees,
the mountains,
and the sky.
Ignore the minds
of those who only
covet each other.
Be free
from the vines
and briars,
but learn the lessons
from the undergrowth
as well as the stars.
HG – 2021