Count Not the Number

Better than a thousand speeches
utterly devoid of sense
is a word of deepest meaning
that brings the hearer peace.

Better than in songs a hundred
empty words that break the air
is one word of deepest meaning 
that gives the hearer peace.

And though you slew ten thousand warriors
times a thousand, small the feat.
He that is his own self's master
is conqueror in very truth.

(After a poem in the Dhammaparda)
Copyright © | Year Posted 2022

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Book: Diverse Voices: The Poetry of Human Rights and the Pursuit of Peace