Dear Cyndy,

Thank you for your letter. The fact that I picked it up
within five minutes after you sent it, shows that I couldn't
sleep, and I couldn't sleep because I worry; and egotist
that I am, when I worry, its about myself and having made
a mistake. There are so many of them! Immediately, of course,
a mistake in my advice to you. Understandably also, worry
about the validity and wisdom of the legal positions I take.
It disconcerts me to note the extent to which my judgment is 
contingent on my mood.

I like the poem you sent, its unvarnished honesty, a kafkaesque
readiness to gaze into the social abyss. Shame, as you may have
gathered, is not one of my attributes. I'm often embarrassed by
the inadequacy and ineffectiveness of my efforts, but not ashamed.
Shame requires a pre-existing social relationship. One is 
ashamed in front of, or in the midst of others; shame fades
as society recedes, and when one is alone one has no one in front
of whom to be ashamed, and God has turned out to be a co-conspirator. 

Do send more poems. I need the broader perspective.

More, later.

Jochen