Timely Wisdom

When I was in law school, I took a trip to Cincitucky (the "Cincinnati" airport is actually in Kentucky) to coach one of our Moot Court teams. Prior to the first round, my team was getting a bit nervous. They had also noted that I tended to read books of poetry and philosophy, which is strange for a law student, because we were assigned so much reading that the last thing anyone wanted to do was read for pleasure, except me, apparently. One of the girls on my team asked if I could read them something wise from the book I was reading, something that might give them inspiration or calm their nerves. At the time, I was about half-way through a collection of poems by Carl Dennis. I opened the book to a poem entitled "The Peaceable Kingdom," cleared my throat, and began:

You tear open the hood and stare in.
The fuel pump's clogged with flowers.

I gently closed the book, set it aside, and looked up at my team, who, quite predictably, went on to dominate the contest, claiming first place, while taking 2 out of 3 of the most outstanding individual performances.

Sometimes it matters what you say. Other times, it does not.