Hopes are just like sugar-glass,
They’re meant for now, not built to last,
And whatever dreams you dream, don’t really mater,
For hopes and dreams are both the same,
They don’t come true , and no-ones to blame,
But however tenderly you grasp them they still shatter.

Like smoke that’s blown upon the wind,
Hope is the spectre deep within,
A mirage of what you think, life should be,
While dreams are hopes whilst you’re asleep,
That into your waking hours creep,
The illusion of a life lived happily.

But no-one said life would be fun,
Though I admit it is for some,
For most it’s filled with unfulfilled desires,
The lottery win that never came,
Your home team winning the national game,
Or to be the one that everyone admires.

And you hope your kids do well at school,
And are not considered the village fool,
Though you know within your heart, they could do better,
And you hope your son-in-law will change,
Or leave your daughter one fine day,
For you wish to God that he had never met her.

Because he cheats on her and tells her lies,
But she’s too in love to realize,
And would call you liar if you should dare to say.
And the love you feel for her is such,
That you keep your two lips tightly shut,
Lest what you have to tell drives her away.

These are the fruits of hopes and dreams,
They are just a waste of time it seems,
For seldom do your wishes come to pass,
Good deeds you’ve done for someone else,
While never thinking of yourself
Always come back to bite you in the arse,

That’s just the way it is, the way it goes,
And it’s the same for everyone I suppose,
For no good deed goes unpunished I have learnt,
Reach in the fire to save a friend,
And all you’ll have there at the end,
Are fingers that are very badly burnt.

And though you may think I’m being cynical,
I’m really not that way at all,
For things are seldom quite the way they seem,
And though I’ve complained in every line,
Of every verse throughout this rhyme,
Forgive me please I’m just letting off some steam.


By S.E.Ralph

15-3-2018