From Orient Point

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The art of living isn’t hard to muster:

Enjoy the hour, not what it might portend.

When someone makes you promises, don’t trust her

unless they’re in the here and now, and just her

willing largesse free-handed to a friend.

The art of living isn’t hard to muster:

groom the old dog, her coat gets back its luster;

take brisk walks so you’re hungry at the end.

When someone makes you promises, don’t trust her

to know she can afford what they will cost her

to keep until they’re kept. Till then, pretend

the art of living isn’t hard to muster.

Cooking, eating and drinking are a cluster

of pleasures. Next time, don’t go round the bend

when someone makes you promises. Don’t trust her

past where you’d trust yourself, and don’t adjust her

words to mean more to you than she’d intend.

The art of living isn’t hard to muster.

You never had her, so you haven’t lost her

like spare house keys. Whatever she opens,

when someone makes you promises, don’t. Trust your

art; go on living: that’s not hard to muster.

Marilyn Hacker 1990, From her collection, "Going Back to the River."