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Park Bench Sage

I sat next to an old geezer on a park bench
He looked at me, said "I can see you're a mensch"
Let me tell you what I've learned in the past 80 years.
"Oh no", thought I, but his words flew like spears:

"Who can fathom the deviousness of the heart 
To know the mind from the face, there is no art. 
Woe unto them that call evil good, take it as a clue
If they can't anchor themselves in the obviously true
Some claim darkness is light, and light dark
If you follow that lighthouse, you'll end up in a shark.

Prepare in advance, no practice leads to error
A peaceful scene then sudden terror  
Never underestimate the fury of the wicked  
It will come, as the prophet predicted.  

You can work too hard, and not work smart
Get your sleep, take a walk, create some art
Your health must survive any deadline
Nothing achieved when a sprint is followed by decline.

The old man paused, took a sip of juice
Maybe this was my chance to break loose
I looked for a polite way to flee
But I was exhausted from my weekly game of Rugby.

"Death and life are in the power of the tongue  
Words can cut deep even if sweetly sung.  
There is no safety for good men, but to believe the worst of those
who when given two paths, the evil one chose.

Be slow to anger, make sure you understand  
Incompetence rather than evil, often rules the land.  
If a man comes to kill you, kill him first,  
But seek truth and be wise, lest the roles reversed.  

Do unto others as you want them to do unto you
Often they want their side heard, their point of view.
Hear out the extreme, the foreign, the new
For in the unexpected, there may be wisdom to pursue.
Hypocrisy is the tribute vice gives to what's good
We can't always live up to what we should

"And last," he said earnestly "I must preach
To think before talking, be concise in speech
Don't give strangers advice, for all our sakes
Especially if like me, you made endless mistakes
Be aware of your own contradictions
Know that reality is stranger than fiction.

"Thanks geezer", I said, "but I gotta go
"In the rugby game of life, you must have been a pro
In my hurry to leave my foot fell into a drain
All that advice, and now I have a sprain.

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