Sixty-four

Before it moves, hold it.
Before it goes wrong, mend it.
Drain off water in winter before it freezes.
Before weeds grow, sow them to the wind.
You can deal with what has not yet happened
You can foresee harmful events
And not allow them to come to be.

For as naturally as a single seed becomes a massive tree
A tall tower can arise from a single handful of earth,
Or here at your feet, a thousand mile journey can begin.

Quick action bruises,
Quick grasping loses.

Therefore, a sane person's care is to not exert
One move that can miss, one move that can hurt.
Most people who miss, after almost winning,
Should have known the end from the beginning.
A sane person is sane in knowing
What things they can spare,
In not wishing what most people wish,
In not reaching for things because they seem rare.

The cultured might call such a person a brute,
This person of few words,
Because their own care is not to interfere
But to allow nature to renew
The sense of direction that people misplace.