The Doer's Song, Stephen Bauhart (December 2025)

The Doer's Song

Do the thing that you must do -
Do it, straight and clear.
Do what cannot be undone
And do it without fear.

Then if the world, it goes askew,

At least the thing was done,
And as you face the aftermath,
The next thing is begun.

And maybe that’s not meant to be,
But, maybe say it was,
Then say the thing, and say it true,
And say it just because
The thing that’s said that must be said
Will burn the truant tongue
When old men take the words to bed
They didn’t say when young.

Sayers, doers, will be free
To bear the weights they choose,
And race for what they wish to be
Even if they lose.
The heart that roams may not be lost
If it wanders its own way,
And for a while outruns the cost
That man can never pay.

First published in the book Holy Jokes & Twisted Rings.