Lines Upon Leaving a Sanitarium
by Theodore Roethke

Self-contemplation is a curse
That makes an old confusion worse.

Recumbancy is unrefined
And leads to errors in the mind.

Long gazing at the ceiling will
In time induce a mental ill.

The mirror tells some truth, but not
Enough to merit constant thought.

He who himself begins to loathe
Grows sick in flesh and spirit both.

Dissection is a virtue when
It operates on other men.


m4a: Boppin' the Blues by Carl Perkins