Poem of the week: The Hymn of Empedocles by Matthew Arnold
William Sieghart’s poetry pharmacy prescribes the perfect words to help you through your problems. This week: disappointment with life
In my pharmacy, I meet patients who believe that their lives have been wasted. They have worked for too long at a job they don’t enjoy; they have never become wealthy; they haven’t found the recognition they hoped for. To them, life seems to have been a thankless slog after goals that didn’t materialise. What was the point?
To them, I offer this lovely little extract, four lines that get to the bottom of what makes life valuable beyond the overt signs of success. It reminds them that living is its own reward. The sensation of the sun on your cheek, the feeling of loving someone and of being loved. Being able to reason, to question, to achieve a goal, however puny.
These are the fundamentals of life, and they matter more than any accolade or possession. The only possible answer to the question posed by this poem is that these gifts are not so small. They are huge, majestic things; they tower above all else. It is only because life has been generous enough to offer these wonders to all of us that their value is diminished in our eyes.
from The Hymn of Empedocles by Matthew Arnold
Is it so small a thing
To have enjoy’d the sun,
To have lived light in the spring,
To have loved, to have thought, to have done…
The Poetry Pharmacy Returns is published by Particular. To order a copy for £12.99, call 0844 871 1514 or visit the Telegraph Bookshop
