Naked in Mind

A poem inspired by a long walk in the countryside with my son and dedicated to him. There is no explanation desirable or necessary.

Naked in Mind

 

You stand beside me naked in mind

As we bare our souls to an invisible crowd

We are not required to represent mankind

So our thoughts need not be spoken aloud

My genes flow within your body’s youth

As those of my father did within mine

Throughout my time I’ve searched for truth

So, to others’ condemnation I will not resign

 

Whatever I’ve done I’ve done mostly for the best

Accepting, of course, that I’ve often been mistaken

And though I’ve lived my life with habitual zest

My personal ethics were rarely forsaken

Let those who judge me be judged for ever

In some self-made, iniquitous, inquisition

To slight the person, not their deeds, is never

The way to establish a logical position

 

Let’s agree that were we to relive the past

We would try to live it another way

And that moments of happiness can never last

Just as sunlight fades at the end of day

If from sad times I could exclude you

That would also discard so much of our pleasure

And all that effort might still not preclude you

From the sadness that neither of us now treasure

 

So let me finish by admitting there are things I regret

And much that should have, but has not, been done

There are things I would dearly prefer to forget

And others that from my memory have gone

I am proud to be the man that brought you life

And to accept responsibility for that creative seed

As I do for our shared joy and strife

Let my naked mind be yours indeed