Almost Eureka!

THREE POEMS

ALMOST EUREKA!

Between two breaths

Of ether, while I strove to part the veil

That hides the blanched face of oblivion,

I lost the Swami's secret.

Truth was there-

I saw it! Scornfully intent,

I would have plucked it forth;

Just one more swift analysis, and lo!

To be and not to be would lie

A Chinese puzzle broken in my hands. . . .

I made a mental note of that.

I made a note that I had made a note

Not to forget; I made a note... .

You'd better tell...

Miss Smith...

He's coming to... .

We'd better have another...

Of gauze. No, you're all right,

Be quiet! ...

So...

I lost it; yet not quite.

Before I lose it utterly, I'll write

This guess, for truth's not what you think-

Not beauty; no, it's what you feel

When, at the circus, you have let the showman steal

Your dime, and once within the gate, are shown

Bosco, who's not a wild man, but a clown

In black-face; truth is something light-

A ball of paper that you blow

From off your finger-tips. That's all you'll know

Of truth, or need to know.

Oh, never a passion-testing youth,

Horatio, but could teach

Philosophy a hundred simple things, and each

More serious than truth.