Emphasis: Balancing Act

Life can be cruel,
Like an endless duel,
A very hard school,
Where difficulty and disappointment are the rule.

If so, then one may ask
What sort of tool
Can be employed to grapple with this test?
As such would be a precious jewel.

In my view,
A certain toughness is needed
To stand up to hardship and meet it
But that is perilous as well,

For indifference to
The plight
Can create hard heartedness,
Which brings no delight,

As such imperviousness may only increase woe
By making us insensitive,
So we might
Be just as cold as Antarctic ice.

So to counteract this unresponsiveness,
Compassion is required
But even such a benign approach
Does not end our trouble,

For steeping in sentiment
Can sabotage our efforts,
Allowing emotion to blind us,
Producing imprudent decisions and actions

And so,
Some wisdom is essential too,
To ensure a balance
In between the two.