everything cracks one day, an egg,
armour, a book's spine.
The human spine may be
the only exception, though
much depends on pressure, time and place.
Such cases are therefore rare.
Hardly any. Because
there are so many pressures, places and times
around.
Cracks are normally stuck together. It is not on record
that anyone would want to go about cracked,
not even the whip-crackers.
Cracks are mended with wax, paraffin,
soldered, bandaged. Or talked out of existence. This most of all.
But a mended egg is no longer an egg,
soldered armour is no longer armour,
a bandaged heel is an Achilles heel and
a man talked out of existence is not the man he was,
rather the Achilles heel of others.
Worst of all is when hundreds of mended eggs
pass themselves off as best eggs and hundreds
of suits of soldered armour as true armour,
thousands of cracked people as monoliths.
Then it's all one huge crack.
All we can do in the world of cracks is
now and then to call out, Mr Director, mind your step on the
stairs,
you have a crack, if I may say so.
That's all. Afterwards there's only more cracking.
(Ian and Jarmila Milner)
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