Desiderata

So manifold is man's great crime

To take and take from giving hands

So desolate, his wartime rhyme

Man cannot help but take his stands

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For ever since the dawn of time

Man's always dreamt of unknown lands

Where silver falls and mountains climb

And treasure's buried in the sands

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He sails the seas to find this place

This promised land of hidden grace

Where rivers flow with rubies red

And golden kings stand in good stead

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Where starlight falls on sapphires bright

And deep blue sky banishes night

Where crown and ring and rod reside

And where the greedy spirits hide

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To gain a glimpse, many have lied

And schemed in search of secret doors

In vain, I fear, you might have tried

To take that which was never yours

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Though if you have, you'll never tell

But stolen things weigh down the heart

So if, from some high place you fell

You might go right back to the start

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Or maybe you'd fall through the floor

And glimpse the hell that lies in store

For those who hunger ever more

For diadems and gems galore

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All special things, they have their price

All precious rings, their sacrifice

Not yet a finger in a vice

These wayward pleasures do entice

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But rare among the purest things

Yet sounds a call, a bell which rings

A voice which only seldom sings

A unique peace with simple wings

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A choice that must be made each day

To thank the light which marks the way

The might that clears the throat to say

"To live with gratitude we pray

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To notice what was always there

The green grass and the flower fair

The warm bed and the leaky roof

The seed of doubt in every proof"

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Good food, great nights, night lights, best mates

Good moods, broke hearts, fresh starts, failed dates

The richest man is he who sees

Both the forest and the trees

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In seeing so, he comes to grow

And tends the garden of his soul

He loves his plants, with rain does dance

Remembering, he's of the whole

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And so he lives a life of pray'r

But not to one on high up there

His way to pray is just to be

In love with nature's harmony

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He cherishes each strawberry

And loves to walk beneath the sun

He takes each day to be a key

Mountains to climb, races to run

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Doors to unlock, secrets to find

These tangled threads of fate, unwind

The sun's position to divine

And its nature to so define

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How long we've sought to pierce the veil

To ride with wind in cosmic sail

To distant shores beyond the pale

To go beyond horizon's jail

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The majesty of mystery

Yet mischief seeks to breach its core

So he could see all history

And so could know the endless lore

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But such things can warp and twist the mind

And when the time comes, what one may find

Is that in one's endless grasping after

The deaf can hear the devil's laughter

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What could be purer than a spirit so bold?

More precious indeed than a dragon's deep hold?

What's rarer than diamonds and silver and gold?

Simple joy in the moment and the poor things of old.