with due propriety

as we remember to remark the cause
so you must give us a choice of the days
this being the boundary of proper laws

we don't expect the one who hems and haws
but understanding of the changing ways
as we remember to remark the cause

the time has come to open up the claws
and let the waiting eye simply appraise
this being the boundary of proper laws

we know too well that in the time of thaws
some matters you will have no heart to raise
as we remember to remark the cause

you think that there must be a time to pause
and give the waiting ones their due last praise
this being the boundary of proper laws

we are due at this time some loud applause
by those whose vision we had to amaze
as we remember to remark the cause
this being the boundary of proper laws

wondering at the absence of storm

 

where boundaries are not so easy crossed
we do not ask hard questions of the trade
about which errors were too easy made
and how the tempest on this shore them tossed
when we have ascertained the total cost
we'll send them out on the forlorn parade
and laugh when they ask for some hope or shade
for there is none here where all have been lost
your hope and harmony are for this scene
to be the kind of dream that we confect
out of small scraps of half-forgotten woe
while soon we find on waking that the green
and gentle light of morning will connect
us to all those good things we need to know

a sort of education

 what we learn early is not always truth
our teachers will not let us all reply
nor give us all the honest reasons why

we are betrayed by the loudly uncouth
on many matters we cannot descry
what we learn early is not always truth

it is too easy to fool all the youth
the eager mind will swiftly grasp the lie
and then proclaim it loudly to the sky
what we learn early is not always truth