Life is a fusion of contraries
A string of paradoxes
As light and darkness make the full day
Contraries weave the woof and warf of life.

Fresh energy and vigour for the day
Are distilled drops of quiet nightly sleep
Words of wisdom and profound insight
Well up from the depths of silent thought.

Admirable advances of the present
Sprouted from long quests of the past
Highest reaches of soaring space ships
Are propelled by strongest retro rockets.

The higher you aim to leap
The farther you back up to start
The taller you intend to build
The deeper foundations you dig.

The sparks of wit flash better
Against the ashes of dullness
Kind words and acts are soothing balm
On throbbing stabs of hate and spite.

The noble lotus is more regal
Against a murky pool
And noblest men are forged
In hardest, harshest oppression.