February 27, 1999

Passing Grade

in medieval times they tested
the guilty via various tests and notions
And we in modern times have turned
these tortures
to modern cliches applicable
to ideas, both physical
and mental

first comes the trial by fire
where sinewy flame burns and rots
cracking to dust the weak and
lame
parts, but the strong can easily survive, now
tempered harder by the heat

trial by time is no test indeed
for despite it all
memory lasts longer than the object
and only with the deaths of testers
will leave the object gone

trial by ice or water
eats slowly away
but it remains

but if you stop and give time to think
searching out every crevice and
nook of the nook, locating
dark and weak locations
obscuring the perfection of it all
highlighting the negatives
no longer well in sight
the object or idea can never
will never
nothing ever
survives trial by thought