Shaped by Want
By John Herlihy

All of his life had been shaped by longing and want;
Call it desire, but in truth his urges were more a taunt,
Teasing and cajoling him into thinking every whim,
To serve as the basis of a life just to be happy and grin.
As a child, his desires for happiness were all but neglected;
As an adult, the urge to wish has become all but perfected.
To be known as a poet laureate became a bubble that burst;
To achieve success and fame seemed an ambition cursed.
To be loved for who he was seemed a goal unattained;
To lift the public mask seemed an invitation to be blamed.
We live our lives with a privacy that helps us survive;
If people knew the truth, there would be nothing to derive.
As an old man he knew enough to want absolutely nothing;
Years of experience had taught him the virtue of one thing
To give up our every desire so that we no longer feel taunted
To embrace the life that we have as the one we truly wanted.