Confession of a Wise Man

“... and they went back by another way.”

“Wise men” — I think that’s what you call us now,
and we were wise, according to our lights:
for we spent many long and studious nights
in watching stars, and plotting where and how
and when their influence would be most strong.
Time was I’d chart the future for a prince,
based on his natal day. and then convince
him it was right when it proved wrong.
A charlatan? Perhaps. But once, I cast
a horoscope that caused my heart to stir;
and bearing gold and frankincense and myrrh
my friends and I went traveling, til at last
we saw a sight that made us feel ashamed
at all we’d done before, and warmed our hearts.
And we discarded all our former arts.
Two bright stars by a stable door were framed;
all other constellations seen beside that one
were dimmed: it was The Mother and Her Infant Son.

— Tobias Stanislas Haller BSG, 1984

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