Reading from W.H. Auden’s For the Time Being

THE FIRST SHEPHERD
The winter night requires our constant attention,
Watching that water and goodwill,
Warmth and well-being, may still be there in the morning.

THE SECOND SHEPHERD
For behind the spontaneous joy of life
There is always a mechanism to keep going,

THE THIRD SHEPHERD
And someone like us is always there.

THE FIRST SHEPHERD
We observe that those who assure us their education
And money would do us such harm,
How real we are just as we are, and how they envy us,
For it is the centerless tree
And the uncivilized robin who are the truly happy,
Have done pretty well for themselves:

THE SECOND SHEPHERD
Nor can we help noticing how those who insist that we ought to stand up for our rights, and how important we are, keep insisting also that it doesn’t matter a bit If one of us gets arrested or injured, for it is only our numbers that count.

THE THIRD SHEPHERD
In a way they are right,

THE FIRST SHEPHERD
But to behave like a cogwheel when one knows one is no such thing,

THE SECOND SHEPHERD
Merely to add to a crowd with one’s passionate body, is not a virtue.

THE THIRD SHEPHERD
What is real about us all is that each of us is waiting.