FAME

by John Herlihy

Hello fame!
Do you know me?
I’ve been looking for you everywhere.
It’s time to give me a name.

A name that will rhyme and chime
As a keepsake for all to remember
For a brief moment in time
At least until next September.

To you it’s all the same
You pick me up; you throw me down.
I might just as well travel with a hound
In order to feel safe and sound.

You raise me up and I float afar,
Grateful not to be roaming below, getting stuck in tar.
My name now echoing from peak to mountain peak
This is a far cry from the whimpering of the meek.

Fame’s name travels across great distances
Like jungle drums in the night,
Echoing their hollow witnesses
To anyone who listens in sight.

Until the night crickets murmur
Their sad, depressing tale,
Of the captain whose ship entered darkness
Without the benefit of a sail.

Fame appears like a rainbow,
With multi-colored lights;
Dazzling the onlookers
With its magnificent sights.

Until it loses its luster
And neglects to say good-bye;
Vanished like a breath in an instant
Alone again under the night sky.

Fame is but a shimmering mirage
Taking payment for a fee,
Hovering over a Bedouin and his entourage
In the stingy shadow of a palm tree.

Good-bye, fleeting fame!
Thy brief sojourn was fitting.
I will deal with the pain.
Leave me now to my knitting.

People have a way of forgetting
Even the most reckless betting.
It was fun while it lasted.
Who can hold fame to account,
Who can charge the rightful amount
For fame’s fleeting moment.

You inimical bastard,
Farewell false friend
Lord of sweet, pitiful, brief fame.
I have only myself to blame
In asking for a name.