From birth he learns he must survive.
His wants and needs, which must be met,
Are paramount, take precedence
O'er what they'll do and how he'll 'get'.
He cries and screams to get his way.
He'll kick and thrust to emphasise.
Whate'er it takes to make it known
There's something they must empathise.
Along the way, with manners taught
And tantrums aren't the way to go,
He learns to scheme, manipulate
And with such skills, he learns to crow
...and crow he does, and boast and brag.
Competitively selfish ways
Are sought to feed his new-found greed,
Developed in his childhood days.
Then comes the day he's grown and sown
The seeds for future's fortitude.
These set the bar for who we are
And measure lifestyle's magnitude.
For years, he'll pillage and he'll strive
To see his pertinent worth is built.
Materialistic wealth and gain
All stuffed inside life's heavy quilt,
Until, at last, he stops for breath
To gaze at all his worldly goods.
His health is shot. His hearts is cold.
He starts to think of 'coulds' and 'shoulds'.
He wonders where his life has gone
And why there is no happiness.
These 'chattels' don't fulfill his needs!
He's lost in private wilderness.
His wife is gone, his children too.
He missed their fun and laughs and tears.
His colleagues sigh and turn away,
He's had this coming up for years.
They'd watched him as he'd burned his boats
And burned his candle from both ends.
They saw his crumbled family
Disperse, ignored ...and all their friends
Just shrug and sneer. They're not surprised.
He hadn't put an ounce of thought
Or effort into those who'd cared,
Too busy with the wealth he sought.
And there he is, lost in his world
Of objects, stuff, a tangible mass.
Surrounded by all that he reaped,
Realizing that his world is crass,
Devoid of love, deprived of life,
Bereft of feeling, warmth or joy...
Belatedly, he now thinks back
To when he was a little boy
And all he could have, should have, learned
'bout sharing, caring, selflessness,
Instead of dwelling on his greed
And single-minded covetousness
Now, in the twilight of his years,
He's only one thing left to learn.
A selfish life has never borne
A sense of worth, one can discern.
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I'm pretty sure...as so many...you too...have run around a maze of collective-society-friends and loved ones...run in the wheel of a pointless pursuit-self defeating way of life...caught up in a fiercely competitive struggle for love-power-money-a tap on your shoulder...trying to bring out the best in yourself-others-community-society...working pretty hard...going nowhere...achieving little...never truly satisfying your own-inner self...nor have a time to enjoy the journey of life...
Till...one day...you've decided to escape the cheesy rewards' awards...pay cheque'n promise of love...endless "opportunity" at work...
You finally find an escape route...decided to use your talent-intellect-good character-knowledge-power of dedication as an opportunity to serve others...find courage to say noooo...to being treated as one of the rats...before becoming one...
You've find out...you don't need others to tell you what you did well...knew better...You knew it! yourself.
And you know how it motivates you to do more...how you see yourself smiling with pride...
Finally...you gave yourself the thump up!
Find contentment within self...reached the state of well-being...because finally you've understood the meaning of the line...eloquently put by Lilly Tomlin:
"The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win, you are still a rat".
...truly a cherry on your life's cake!
Thank you for sharing your thoughts provoking and great poem.
You got me thinking about my cousin, who died at 57 alone in a single car accident in a remote location that is highly suspicious. He did all and everything that you describe in your poem, and, I believe, was miserable before his untimely (or rigged) death.
Ron