<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=us-ascii"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div dir="auto" style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><span style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class="">The Weighing</span><div class=""><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class=""><br style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32);" class=""></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class="">The heart's reasons</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32);" class=""><span style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class="">seen clearly,</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32);" class=""><span style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class="">even the hardest</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32);" class=""><span style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class="">will carry</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32);" class=""><span style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class="">its whip-marks and sadness</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32);" class=""><span style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class="">and must be forgiven.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32);" class=""><span style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class="">As the drought-starved</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32);" class=""><span style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class="">eland forgives</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32);" class=""><span style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class="">the drought-starved lion</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32);" class=""><span style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class="">who finally takes her,</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32);" class=""><span style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class="">enters willingly then</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32);" class=""><span style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class="">the life she cannot refuse,</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32);" class=""><span style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class="">and is lion, is fed,</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32);" class=""><span style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class="">and does not remember the other.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32);" class=""><span style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class="">So few grains of happiness</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32);" class=""><span style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class="">measured against all the dark</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32);" class=""><span style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class="">and still the scales balance.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32);" class=""><span style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class="">The world asks of us</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32);" class=""><span style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class="">only the strength we have and we give it.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32);" class=""><span style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class="">Then it asks more, and we give it.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32);" class=""><br style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32);" class=""><span style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class=""><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>- Jane Hirshfield</span></div></div></body></html>