Dream of Shame

 I had a dream last night, that I can remember quite clearly.  I was in the consciousness of someone who stood in the court of some sort of king, and there were several of us there, playing a sort of game.  The game was that we had cards, which we turned over to find revealed some word or phrase, and we had to, spontaneously, say something poetic or profound on the theme or word revealed on the card.

When it came my turn, the card revealed to me the word, "Shame" and I decided to keep it short, not wanting to go on and on about it.  So, all I said (in the dream) was this:

Shame

What is man that he should feel shame?

Of all the creatures, only humanity can experience shame.

When I concluded, the king said that it was unacceptable, but it seemed he might have been referring to what the person to my left had just said on his theme, and was not objecting to what I said.  Nevertheless, I somehow had to go again and say more, so my final statement on the theme of shame was this:

Shame

What is man that he should feel shame?

Of all the creatures, only humanity can experience shame.

The fearsome snake slinks along the surface

And guards treasures of no value to snakes

The beautiful peacock struts with his extravagance

And annoys listeners with his screaming sounds

Darwin said man alone of all the beasts

Can aspire to ideals, 

Compare our station to what we desire

And strive to progress

We are created noble, the Hidden Words remind us,

And ask, why have we abased ourselves?

So if we heed the story of the peacock and the snake,

And if Darwin was right about us

And if nobility is our nature

Shame is necessary

To correct our course

And guide us aright.