Leucon, no one’s allowed to know his fate,
Not you, not me: don’t ask, don’t hunt for answers
In tea leaves or palms. Be patient with whatever comes.
This could be our last winter, it could be many
More, pounding the Tuscan Sea on these rocks:
Do what you must, be wise, cut your vines
And forget about hope. Time goes running, even
As we talk. Take the present, the future's no one's affair.
-
Horace's Ode I:11
Posted: Oct 08
Timeless words, Isabel. Thanks.
Tom
Tom – Thank *you.*
Well said, Isabel. If you were going to say it again, is there anything you’d add? Subtract? What I didn’t hear, in the broadcasts of various 9/11 remembrances, was any sense that America had learned anything in the last 20 years. Grief, yes. But no sense that American policies might have contributed to the tragedy.
Jim T
Jim – Thanks. As for adding/subtracting, I don’t think I’d get into policy complications in this piece, since the 9/11 attacks weren’t my subject, merely my vehicle, as it were. Terrorism doesn’t arise in a policy vacuum – there is always context, if not exoneration. I suspect these points are better made/considered by folks inside the affected community.
Amen. Thank you for singing about the unsung.
Laurna – Thank you. I find it discouraging, a bit, that I have to remind myself of things I “know” and have to work to keep helpful perspectives (once found) front and centre. Realizations do tend to drift away.
To repeat Jim: Well said
Jim R – 🙂 Many thanks.