Thought Experiment

I believe I can say with Socrates that I’d rather

Be thought a bad man while in fact a good one

Than be thought a good man while in fact a bad.

But I can’t be certain I’d be strong enough

To persist in my choice without one friend

I could share the truth with, that I’d be secure

With no one but me in my audience,

Urging me on. Granted, I’d have an easier time

Than a younger man who made the same choice,

Since I’d have only a few years left to persist

In a life without company. I’d be more likely

Than he would be to give over the thankless task

Of persuading those impervious to all evidence,

Turning instead to the tasks I could do alone

At home, like feeding the sickly plants

In my yard with extra compost or writing

Fundraising letters, under an alias,

For a program in wetland conservancy.

A younger man might look for succor

In the thought of a time to come, however distant,

When his name would be cleared of suspicion.

But I’d be inclined—when I needed support

More personal than the teachings of Socrates—

To seek comfort by turning to friends of mine

No longer among the living, familiar shadows

Who I’m confident would refuse to join the crowd.

“Be with me now, for a while, beloved ghosts,”

I would call to them, and they would answer,

If allowed to answer, “Here we are.”