Knowing . . .

Can breed contempt and fear.
 Can puncture like a spear.
Can topple a pillar of pride.
 Can be hell's merciless guide.
Can slice a heart clean in half.
 Can be the slaughter to a calf.
           But knowing . . .
Is the key to joy's great door.
 Is love's essential core.
Is a salve for a broken heart.
 Is the path to a brand new start.
Is desire's eternal fuel.
 Is the antidote to deceit's awful cruel.
Is what maintains the mystic muse.
 Is the riddle's delightful clues.
Without knowing, there is not life.
I know this because I've known a wife.