Take care this and thy own.
Rely on little that you can.
May small seeds each we've sown
bear fruit yes for women, and man.
No savior but me do I see
in this our nest all-messed.
So to myself I must ever be*
help to me and deserved rest.
Model thus, do so I say,
with this belated sight in hind.
Hope's my son his lasting ray.
Best I deem we now are kind.
_____
* To myself I must ever be? I am named after the fellow on the right, my father's (Des's) cousin Jack. I have been John Kevin. Would that I had been called Jack. I would have preferred it, although the results would have probably been the same.
UPDATE, 16.06.23
A philosopher-correspondent wrote that my name change to Fatty Jack was not warranted, nor did John have anything to do with the name Jack. (Fatty comes from a recent diagnosis of a fatty liver--too much beer in my youth, I figure.) I wrote back:
Yes, name is John from which Jack is derived.
From _The Importance of Being Earnest_ by Oscar Wilde
GWENDOLEN. Jack? . . . No, there is very little music in the name Jack, if any at all, indeed. It does not thrill. It produces absolutely no vibrations . . . I have known several Jacks, and they all, without exception, were more than usually plain. Besides, Jack is a notorious domesticity for John! And I pity any woman who is married to a man called John. She would probably never be allowed to know the entrancing pleasure of a single moment’s solitude. The only really safe name is Ernest.Reading philosophy might be greatly rewarding, but is there any wit and humor in all that heady stuff?
No, give me a good play to read or attend, for that can stimulate the brain and well as the diaphragm--for it's the source of laughter.
Brain stimulation you ask? Note the pun with the name John and the image of a woman's husband always occupying the room with the toilet every time she wants to have a moment's peace.
There's your philosophy byte for the day. Now get back to what you are supposed to be doing. This is all fluff and worthy of delete.
