PAIK ASSOCIATES architecture
. Taeho Paik . POEMS .

That Which We Know


That which we know to be true sounds a gong
heard down through the ages of Man
Music plays with time on a staircase
and raindrops tapdance on the head

What God gives is energy not modesty
Inner strength is not the will to bear a burden
but a decision made for the sake of clarity
The body feeds on bread, the soul needs dreams

Tea is served to ease the duty of company
The ceremony of island nations and lighthouse keepers
The subjects of emperors and bastions of hope
guard the essence of the middle continent

Receiving thoughts gently need only healthy ears
Stories do nothing but entertain the open mind
The loom of tolerance weaves the threads of wisdom
its romantic cousins and the idea of freedom

Where the muses dance, the seasons change
Like the candle flame fluttering 
the spirit is shaped in the moving wind
With new wine the cup may fill

Lucignano, 29 8 2005

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