To A Friend In State Of Doubt Poem by RIC BASTASA

do not try to understand
there is nothing worth understanding
nothing understands understanding
in itself, it longs for the unquenchable doubt

for doubt makes understanding a fake princess
of the castle on the clouds
doubt unlike understanding does not beg
doubt scatters and understanding loses in this game
of reconcilement
it keeps a heap of leaves only to dry in its stockroom
it smells rotten and becomes rotten

do not attempt to inderstand
you will be at a loss in this search for wisdom
live in the ocean of doubt
there is a lot of space for the swimming and the sailing

look at them
who claim to understand life and death and rebirth and declare that they have attained
the state of nirvana

they are all drunk, they live in a crowded room,
noisy, boisterous, and so insecure
their mouths babble, and they speak so loud
the room has become too narrow
and there is no ease for breathing