Earn Little

Two moral hazards
To watch for: doing
Too much good; too much
And easy access
To what tempts you most.

The first will set you
Skew-whiff, unbalanced.
The doing-gooders,
Like the guilt-soaked, tend
To compensation.

The second’s simpler.
If the cookie jar
Is kept near to hand
And full, you’ll raid it
Hardly noticing.

Common decency,
The ability
To stay kind and not
Make too much trouble,
Teeters with context.

Moderation’s not
Saintly in itself,
But be too saintly,
You’ll be more tempted
To a wickedness;

More and more tempted,
You’ll more easily
And often give in.
That’s the old riddle
Unraveled, reason

Why the best people,
Esteemed near holy,
Boast the worst scandals—
Hadn’t they earned it?
And where was the harm?