8.23.2011

They Never Learn

Since the majority of me
Rejects the majority of you,
Debating ends forthwith, and we
Divide. And sure of what to do
We disinfect new blocks of days
For our majorities to rent
With unshared friends and unwalked ways,
But silence too is eloquent:
A silence of minorities
That, unopposed at last, return
Each night with canceled promises
They want renewed. They never learn. 

- Phillip Larkin (1922-1985)