You may excel
In the knowledge of their tongue,
And universal ties may bind you close to them;
But what they say, and how they feel___
The subtler details of their meaning,
Thinking, feeling, reaching____
These are closed to you and me for evermore;
As are, indeed, the interleaves or speech
___our speech___which fall on them
No more than were they dear leaves
In dust-dry harmattan,
Although, for years, they've lived
And counted all there is to count
In out midst!