gershon hepner (5 3 38 / leipzig)

He who hears the overtones
of wisdom will encounter disbelief,
and the fractures in his bone
will never heal, and cause incessant grief.

The bone of such a man will rust,
once he’s been drenched by wisdom as by rain,
and he mourn the way he lost the trust
in the divine, preferring the profane.

Augustine said: 'He who puts on wisdom puts on grief, and a heart that understands cuts like rust in the bones.'

This poem is a revision of “Overtones of Wisdom, ” written in 1999.



11/17/99