On the Scraps of Wisdom

“None of this would have happened if people had only been stricter about the use of the comma.”—Karl Kraus, last words

I am the language that I use.

I am the nothing left to lose.

I am the debris that rains down,

The sprezzatura of your frown—

The nonchalance with which you greet

Our common folly in the street,

The junk that’s left of wisdom’s scraps,

The awful meaning of perhaps.

So stay adrift and take your drugs.

Not unaware of monstrous thugs,

Embrace those scraps of jot and tittle,

Expecting them to help a little.

Keep in mind a comma’s placement

Could well doom you to effacement.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Kraus_(writer)

Sunday, October 4, 2026