he who gives quickly gives twice

He who gives quickly gives twice, Marianne Moore wrote, in nothing so much as in a letter. Brevity is all.

With that advice in mind, I'll pass along the best belly laugh I've had lately. Carol Anne Duffy's poem "Mrs. Sisyphus" begins with these lines:

That's him pushing the stone up the hill, the jerk.
I call it a stone-- it's nearer the size of a kirk.

and ends with this line:

He is giving one hundred per cent and more to his work.

The entire poem is playful and dismissive of epic endeavors. She and Mrs. Noah have little patience for great works. The whimsical elements (rhyme, profanity, cliche) of the poem undermine the seriousness of the husband.

With that extreme acknowledged, I'll mention the flip side. Many of us have loved ones who toil away at seemingly impossible tasks anonymously and to good effect. If one life in crisis is redirected, what a good thing for us all.