James Moore Poet Narrative

Notes About The Poem

The Virtue of Fools

(“Citadel of Light Merit Badge”, 2016, original pen and ink) 

Have you noticed 
How it’s become a thing
To expect others to be as stupid as you
And then when they aren’t
Label them with whatever moniker
Of hatred their unvirtue deserves, 
Like “racist”, “fascist”, “whateveraphobe”?

The virtue of fools
Is that whatever they think and say and do
Must be virtuous
Because of course, they are virtuous 
Simply by being,
Which is, of course, simply
Why they are fools.

The stupid, like the dead, have two things in common
Neither know they are,
And neither know what they are missing.
What is virtue you say?
Whatever it is that fulfills your purpose
The fulfillment of which
Separates the foolish from the wise.

(6/30/26)

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