Never say things can’t be worse
They can

Never say things were never worse
They were

If people didn’t reach the peak of the hill
they touched the bottom of the abyss

Where what has befallen you
is a bagatelle

Chocolate calls for raspberries
pick them

The homeland calls for sons
bear them

Your lover longs for shackles
forge them

The black earth yearns for graves
dig them

What wise books have made
is tiny

What foolish books have done
is weighty

Poor is the stock of loving words
rich is the stock of torments

Mighty is the wrath of Zeus
weak is the outcry of Jesus

Never say: things can’t be worse
They can

Never say: things were never worse
They were

Translated by E. Wayles Browne

The preceding text is copyright of the author and/or translator and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.