Reality has muddy eyes;
Convention tethers the tongue.
Consider, learn what the insane say
—they're not bound by either one

My God, how perfect are Thy ways!
But mine polluted are;
Sin twines itself about my praise,
And slides into my prayer.

When I would speak what Thou hast done
To save me from my sin,
I cannot make Thy mercies known,
But self-applause creeps in.

Divine desire, that holy flame
Thy grace creates in me;
Alas! impatience is its name,
When it returns to Thee.

This heart, a fountain of vile thoughts.
How does it overflow,
While self upon the surface floats,
Still bubbling from below.

Let others in the gaudy dress
Of fancied merit shine;
The Lord shall be my righteousness,
The Lord forever mine.

When wise ones have spoken
then fools steal their words
and spout them in token
phrase ways for the birds

They say things like "do not
count eggs 'ere they hatch"

But one thing I'd add to
that oft-spoken phrase
as something you should do
(an act that well-pays)

it's if you fear dragons
—hard-boil the batch