To Calypso

What have we, if not the will,

if not the optimistic thought

we call a dream and strive to fill

with hope?  Well, we have nought

if, somehow, we have lost

life’s vital spark, ignited

by our willingness to bear the cost

of circumstances uninvited

by some, more tranquil mind:

life’s vicissitudes, embraced

as neither kind nor unkind

but shocks of nature faced

when we do dare to wander far,

exploring unfamiliar lands

beneath the constant, guiding star

our nature yearns for and demands. .    . 

(Calypso ₃ and Odysseus. 0421: Odysseus and Calypso. Hendrik van Balen, Jan Brueghel the Elder and Joos de Momper the Elder. Gemäldegalerie der Akademie der bildende Künste, Wien.)

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