What is wanted is not to speak unintelligibly,
or to feign a deceptive familiarity with everything,
but to construct something like clarity.

What is wanted is not to try to make everyone like you,
but to clarify yourself boldly
so that those who might like you may more easily find you.

What is wanted is not to reward those who
autoclave the heart, seeking sterility in satiety,
but to follow instead the phosphorescence of affection.

What is wanted is not to confuse propriety for prosperity,
the solicitude of ignorance and ill-feeling
with a sincerity so easily mistaken for despair.

What is wanted is not to capitulate to mongrel ethics,
but to cherish the tints that cloud perception with preference.