Parable
Some fishermen pulled a bottle from the deep. It held a piece of paper,
with these words: "Somebody save me! I'm here. The ocean cast me on this desert island.
I am standing on the shore waiting for help. Hurry! I'm here!"
"There's no date. I bet it's already too late anyway.
It could have been floating for years," the first fisherman
said.
"And he doesn't say where. It's not even clear which ocean," the
second fisherman said.
"It's not too late, or too far. The island Here is everywhere," the
third fisherman said.
They all felt awkward. No one spoke. That's how it goes with universal truths.
~ Wislawa Szymborska ~
(Poems New and Collected 1957-1997, trans. S. Baranczak and C. Cavanagh)
Indeed, that's how it goes with universal truths. Awkwardness, silence, missing the mark.
God ladles,
Merries go round.
The ring shrinks
With every storm.
Our reach weakens,
Our seat hardens.
The bell tolls.
The phone rings.
Opportunity knocks.
God ladles.