The world is made of opposites
Combined in different forms,
For things to be otherwise
Would violate all sensible norms.
There’s some light in the deeply dark
There’s at least a little bit
Of wealth when things seem stark,
That’s the Yin and Yang of it.
Smart people do things wrong
Untrained minds get complicated matters right,
Every short contains some long
Blindness is one type of sight.
Everything contains itself
Some candles are never lit,
There are useless things on some low shelves,
That’s the Yin and Yang of it.
The humongous contains some small
The weakest have some strength,
The mile or inch that we assign
To calculate a length
Is as accurate as it is false
There is no perfect fit,
The random graces and the carefully planned,
Are the Yin and Yang of it.
David Reinstein is a poet in San Anselmo.
