Qoheleth...

Qoheleth, the ancient Hebrew author of Ecclesiastes,

by tradition “son of David”

—to whom traditions trace the Psalms—

writes:

“It is better to go to the house of mourning

than to go to the house of feasting;

for this is the end of everyone,

and the living will lay it to heart.”

Something in that sounded wise 

as I baled straw at night

—an air-conditioned tractor cab,

the itching chaff outside—

“Do not be too righteous, and do not act too wise;

why should you destroy yourself?

Do not be too wicked, and do not be a fool;

why should you die before your time?”

Somehow Qoheleth holds this all together

in ways friends' faces tell me I'm not doing 

when I try to observe

how true this is to life:

“Like fish taken in a cruel net, 

and like birds caught in a snare, 

so mortals are snared at a time of calamity, 

when it suddenly falls upon them.”

But it seems possible to overemphasize 

discontinuity between this teacher and the prophets;

perhaps the greatest anguish is reserved

for those who see all this and still conclude:

“Remember your creator in the days of your youth, 

before the days of trouble come...

and the dust returns to the earth as it was, 

and the breath returns to God who gave it....”