Wisdom Literature Revisited

Ask any old text—
Any ancient text
That troubles itself

With wisdom, advice,
And the big questions—
And chances are fair,

Death and how to live
Will be topics there,
Which is comical

In a bitter way,
Since death was achieved
By all those involved

In making those texts,
Regardless of fears
They had on approach,

And most of their lives
Dissolved in the past,
Swapped for tales later.

It’s satisfying,
Nonetheless, to read
Those translated texts,

Translated in more
Senses than one, since
It feels like wisdom

To sense the distress
Of obstreperous
Efforts to be wise.