Hermione and Her Little Group of Serious Thinkers/Ballade of Understanding

BALLADE OF UNDERSTANDING


"Does not the World's stupidity
At times make Serious Thinkers fret?"
I asked the fair Hermione;
"Sometimes" she said, "and yet… and yet…
We feel we owe the World a debt!"
She waved a slim, bejeweled hand,
She brooded on some vague regret….
"I hope," she sighed, "you'll Understand?"


"Is not your high Philosophy
Too subtle for the Mob to get?"
I asked…. She pondered seriously;
"Sometimes," she said, "and yet… and yet…"
She trifled with an amulet
Imported from some Orient land….
"What fish can burst the Cosmic Net?…
I hope," she sighed, "you'll Understand."


"Art, Science and Psychology,
Causes that rise and shine and set,
Do all these never weary thee?"—
"Sometimes," she said, "and yet… and yet…
Would Thought and Life have ever met
Unless"… She paused. Her lashes fanned
Her eyes, with tears of ardor wet….
"I hope," she sighed, "you'll understand!"
"Princess, is Bull the One Best Bet?"—
"Sometimes," she said, "and yet… and yet…"
She mused, and then; in accents bland,
"I hope," she said, "you'll Understand!"