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Man Thinking by William Shepherd

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Before the beginning
There was living
And the transmitting of life
For that God made woman
And woman gave to man leisure

From this leisure arose conviviality
Which the women filled
With the good life
Both for themselves
And for their men

From amidst the good life
Some few men emerged
Preferring honied indolence
Over love or ambition or poesy
Or the pursuit of triviality

These few men were as gods
And in their conviviality
Their minds found words
And they made conversation
And their hearts were animated

Conversation gave birth to the idea
And the idea was spoken
And being spoken
Was tried and tested
Back and forth

And the idea was heard in disproportion
And was stripped of the trivial
And adorned with value
From whence in juxtaposition
Wisdom recognised humour

And the men laughed
And joined with one another in earnest debate
The idea was argued
With reckless bias
For and against

Until from those few men gathered together
From the conviviality that gave rise to conversation
And from the conversation that gave rise to humour
And from the humour that gave rise to debate
There came truth

And the soul of Man
Determined that it was good.

Ode for the Common Man l Ode on Success l Ode on Indolence l Home l