Post No. 53: Beware the Ides of March

The Pelican sits and waits

Not greedy for sushi

Not wondering about next

When it will fly off and dive

To gulp its favorite dish

Steinbeck mimics the Pelican

In “East of Eden” he writes

“There was no sin, no virtue

Only people doing things”

Pelican adds “and birds too”

We are not like that

We wonder about next

We hope for something good

We plan and worry

We judge sin and virtue

It can’t be helped

It’s how we are made

It’s in our DNA

Greed and anxiety

Compassion as well

Machiavelli agrees

Counsels us to be on guard

Against human self-interest

Jesus doesn’t disagree

But counsels compassion

We have ability to choose

Guided by wisdom

Informed by learnings

Experiences and history

There is no easy answer

Every era has a challenge

Ours is no exception

Some are more urgent

Perhaps we’re in one now

Many of us agree

Old norms are being upset

People’s passions run strong

Some focus on compassion

Others on a nation’s strength

All eyes are on the leader

Some say he’s a sinner

Some say he’s a savior

Some say he’s a devil

Who wants to bring us down

And he must be stopped

But “Beware the Ides of March”

Shakespeare writes in “Julius Caesar”

Roman history provides a clue

For when poor Julius was slew

The Republic lost all its glue