Thank you but 
not just at the moment 

I know you will say 
I have said that before 
I know you have been 
there all along somewhere 
in another time zone 

I studied once 
those beautiful instructions 
when I was young and 
far from here 
they seemed distant then 
they seem distant now 
from everything I remember 

I hope they stayed with you 
when the noose started to tighten 
and you could say no more 
and after wisdom 
and the days in iron 
the eyes started from your head 

I know the words 
must have been set down 
partly for yourself 
unjustly condemned after 
a good life 

I know the design 
of the world is beyond 
our comprehension 
thank you 
but grief is selfish and in 
the present when 
the stars do not seem to move 
I was not listening 

I know it is not 
sensible to expect 
fortune to grant her 
gifts forever 
I know