Vanity

Get on a pedestal,
Turn into stone,
For all inhabitants
Of Florence and Rome
Your vanity awaits
Its permanent throne.

Reviews

[R.E. Ray]

Imagine if social media and the internet had existed in those times. Would we have anything but faces and physiques on buildings and in parks? Around where I live, I don’t see many bodies that would resemble art of those times. Seems we’d have either a lot of false art or bodies too heavy for pedestals. Your poem captures the vanity of our time, and it’s not art. Good to read your work again, Maxwell.

[barleygirl]

Always good to find a poem from you, posted recently, & here's hoping you'll be posting more soon! This poem & RE's reply bring to mind a comparison between how heroes were worshiped long ago & how it seems everyone is worshiped as heroes (some in their own minds) nowadays. Seems impossible to distinguish between real heroes & those a product of media attention! Too much vanity to get our arms around it all! (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[Chris Shaw]

I haven't been to either Florence or Rome, but maybe one day I will travel there..Yes statues are certainly on show for everyone to see. I wonder who you have in mind here. There are so many vain people you could have addressed this to Maxwell. I love this little piece of brevity. I am forming statues in my mind of a few who would fit the bill. All good wishes.

Chris

[Maxwell Ryder]

Chris!! Lovely to see you. Hope you are well. I just came across all these people with their lithe muscular bodies posing on Instagram, and this poem came to my head. Just thought of all of them climbing up and becoming marble warriors in Rome.

[Chris Shaw]

You know Earl I just knew social media was going to be the inspiration for this. All those posers out there lol. All's well. Hope you are too.

[Chris Shaw]

My apologies Maxwell in my above response for getting your name wrong. That's creeping old age for you :)