Healthy Bodies, Meaning: Pure and Clean

​Healthy bodies, meaning: pure and clean,
I mean, beautiful within and without--
And noble souls--
    How I would wish to meet them hereabout--

Said to be—I say—courageous and sweet,
Said to be pure as olive oil,
    I hesitate to say—where is my hope?
    Are they all mythic & beneath the soil?

We must strive to increase
Among all humankind,
Even more, among Jews,
Cultivating the clarified mind--

    Is there such a thing,
    Any such thing remaining?
    I would rather visit gravesites
    With the wet wind raining--

Push away your thoughts
That disturb this twin intent--
It is the goal of life--
A soul’s embodiment--

Through means of deed & mind--
Through spiritual flair--
    Though I’ve been disappointed
    On this thoroughfare--