should, should not - czeslaw milosz

Should, Should Not
by Czeslaw Milosz

A man should not love the moon.

An ax should not lose weight in his hand.

His garden should smell of rotting apples

And grow a fair amount of nettles.

A man when he talks should not use words that are dear to him,

Or split open a seed to find out what is inside it.

He should not drop a crumb of bread, or spit in the fire

(So at least I was taught in Lithuania).

When he steps on marble stairs,

He may, the boor, try to chip them with his boot

As a reminder that the stars will not last forever.