^{_{This piece was written for the Green Office’s Spring Poetry competition, on the theme: Environmental Guilt, which took place between the months of April-May 2022.}}

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I always presumed to know better than others

To realize something they have not

And to explain it to them

Now, I must confess I ignore too much

I have not yet learned to receive the world

I have not yet learned to listen

I always presumed to be freer than others

To go somewhere they cannot

And to guide them there

Now, I must confess I hurry too much

I have not yet learned to walk quietly

I have not yet learned to stay

I always presumed to see further than others

To aim at something they do not

And to show them by example

Now, I must confess I worry too much

I have not yet learned to fall asleep

Not even to love what I would teach