Walking The Circle

Walking the circle is a phrase
from the world of Spanish fencing,
that is, the historical world.

There are people alive today
who know exactly what it means
but they don’t post it in their blogs.

It’s knowledge that doesn’t get lost
although it’s never in a book.

If you want to walk the circle
in the classic sense of the phrase
you must be perceptive enough
to recognize someone who knows
and you must be skillful enough
and sufficiently civilized
to persuade the person who knows
you’re worthy to know what they know.

It’s said that there are just two ways
to see someone walk the circle.
One is to attack somebody
who knows how to walk the circle.
Then it is the last thing you see.
The second is to find someone
who’ll teach you to walk the circle.

You will not see demonstrations.
You won’t see it on video.
And you’ll never see it in books.

There is civilization and
there is real civilization.

It’s good to keep your eyes open
and to think carefully about
to whom you speak and what you say.

Evasion is raised to an art
among those walking the circle.