Keen that intellect,
razor sharp that wit.
But keeping it that way
requires restraint and skill.
Too hasty a thrust
or too heavy a hand
on the grinding stone
of fact, and what was once
the cutting edge of truth
is dulled or twisted
into a lunatic fringe.
Remember Robespierre.

                                                                   -- Mahlon H Smith 

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* Note: This reflection is based on an entry
in the author's journal
dated 14 December 1969
and published here for the first time.


Collected Poems
of
Mahlon H Smith

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all rights reserved