The Freezing or the Melting Point
Emotions cool and reach degrees
where flowing water freezes still,
then feelings numb when senses turn
indifferent as notions chill.
Some reckon this the Stoic's goal,
neglectful apathy,
but Epictetus counseled all
not to live carelessly.
The Freezing or the Melting Point © Copyright 2021, Robert J. Tiess.
View this poem at AllPoetry.com
36 words. Sensitive / Insensitive brevity challenge prompt - link:
https://allpoetry.com/contest/2777441-Thoughts-35-words
About Epictetus:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epictetus
See also Epictetus' Discourses:
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10661
(e.g. "act according to order, to reason, and not
carelessly." - source: Project Gutenberg)
About Stoicism:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoicism
Submitted: April 25, 2021