From A Dream (1998)

We are born as a species into misery:
out of synch with creation,
gifted above all things
at being troubled...

Our only respite is to pursue our life's passions to the fullest—
becoming expert in such things
as serve to edify the inward being,
and clarify, and sharpen
our sense of humanity and justice.

Fortifying the will to endure all hardships for the sake of others,
we must strive with our lives as common men and women
to leave in our wake—
not the refuse of a life that was ultimately squandered,
but to erect instead, a monument so fitting
as to become in its own way,
in time,
the standard by which our descendants shall measure
the potency of their own convictions, and virtues...

We must act now, to improve the human condition
in ways that work not against nature, but with it;
that whatever good we may thereby accomplish
might be sustained indefinitely—as nature itself
is indefinite, and respectful of only that which accepts
its omnipotence.