Act in Darkness

The greatest man said thus,
Your acts of righteousness
Should be done without fuss
Of needing witnesses.

He added to this,
So when you give to
The needy a piece
Of your reward do
Not speak of it in trumpets
As hypocrites do in streets
And synagogues for self-honor
But do it as with secrets.

It is not about which color
But which shade of one kind
As reflected by one's mind.

For a good lamp is not bought
In accord of its light's color;
What the buyer wanted, sought--
"Is the light less or more?"

So I say to those who're
Righteous to men alone:
"Your lamp does give light more
But it's in daylight shone!"

Reviews

[Dane Osborne]

I think this is the best thing of yours i've read so far Dante. To me, in human behavior there is the core and then facade. The facade is what we use to cover the core. Like when you see celebrities on tv supporting some charity but yet when they see a poor homeless man on the street they'll tell him to get lost. It makes me think of how vanity can be incomprehensible with authenticity. We play for an audience so what we are doing isn't real, it just to entertain the crowd. Great write.

[Lovely Lady]

Wonderful. You are a modern sage! I love it and will come back for more

[David W Moore III]

Exquisitely put. Great point and great form to say it.

[...]

. brilliant, dante ... what a title and how brilliantly you justify it ... here in india too there are a lot of people who do charity work only to be able to brag about it later ... and they're really the most annoying ... makes one wonder about where the human race is headed ... but you know ... your words ... your words are perfect to send a powerful message across to them ...

[Bubo]

Wonderful and so very true! Great flow with a wonderful message.........

[Abigail T]

Wow! What a seriously fabulous piece! I love the use of italics, and the overall message really got me. Really wonderful job. (: