Piet Hein
Love is like
a pineapple,
sweet and
undefinable.
You'll probably find
that it suits your book
to be a bit cleverer
than you look.
Observe that the easiest
method by far
is to look a bit stupider
than you are.
Shun advice
at any price -
that's what I call
good advice.
She gave me hope
she gave me love,
with bounty unalloyed.
But what she had of faith,
alas,
she gave to Freud.
To be brave is to behave
bravely when your heart is faint.
So you can be really brave
only when you really ain't.
Let the world pass in its time-ridden race;
never get caught in its snare.
Remember, the only acceptable case
for being in any particular place
is having no business there.
Living is
a thing you do
now or never -
which do you?
There is
one art,
no more,
no less:
to do
all things
with art-
lessness
You'll conquer the present
suspiciously fast
if you smell of the future
-and stink of the past.
In view of your manner
of spending your days
I hope you may learn,
before ending them,
that the effort you spend
on defending your ways
could be better spent
on amending them.
Those
who can write
have a
lot to
learn from those
bright
enough
not to.
Stomach-ache can be a curse;
heart-ache may be even worse;
so thank Heaven on your knees
if you've got but one of these.
