Vanity

God offered me omnipotence

by giving me a chance to choose

I stood bold stance, and took that chance

to ever walk within his shoes

 

He then offered me five choices

Pleasure, Fame, Riches, Love, and Death

I will have won, when it's all done

so I thought as I caught my breath

 

Then so it was I chose Pleasure

with the thought to enjoy my youth

To run with boys, through all life's joys

happiness was my only truth

 

Pleasures that youth delights upon

were disappointing, then grew cold

Sun setting play, that every day

trickled my fingers through, like gold

 

So once again he came to me

"surely wisdom has found you now

Now choose your fate, it's not too late

as I said, this I will allow"

 

"Fame" I said as he smirked at me

I wish to be a man renowned

To play the game, that touts my name

as one deserving of the crown"

 

But Fame was a fickle master

that led to Envy, Greed and Lust

A shinning star and giant car

that in the end had turned to rust

 

Once more God offered me a choice

of the few things that still remain

"Besides your birth, there's one of worth

try using your heart, not your brain"

 

"Riches then" I did say to him

"surely they can cure all my pain

To do what I can as a man

by amassing what I may gain"

 

Wealth was not the answer I sought

left me with none of what I'd won

When in the end, I had no friend

to rejoice in what I had done

 

So one last time he gave me choice

"Love" I said is what I would like

"A woman's chest, where I may rest

perhaps even a little tyke"

 

The time it passed so quickly by

as I then sat beside her grave

A-wash in tears, for all those years

spent chasing dreams, that none could save

 

"My life has run it's course old man

your final choice is the worst yet"

"My love I lost, at such a cost

all that's left of me is regret"

 

He said "since you have not asked me

for advice on what you should do

I gave Death in a dying breath

to one more deserving than you"

 

" Why won't you grant me rest" I said

"what more is there for me to learn"

" That a life of greed serves no need

live with old age, till it's your turn"

Author's Note

It is always the bitterest of pills That which makes us look at ourselves for who we truly are. Not for the one we wished to be. Like many I am no stranger to vanity.LOL We do not deal much in facts when we are contemplating ourselves.
Life has taught me there are three ways we are perceived.
1. The way we see ourselves
2. The way others see us.
3. The way we truly are

Reviews

[Susan 🦋]

Omgoodness! So much here to contemplate!.. the overall theme is the endless "missed" opportunities granted to us in this lifetime!...and why must it take a lifetime for some of us to finally get it. For me your STAND OUT line is

" I gave Death in a dying breath
to one more deserving than you"
WOW, my take..Heaven, the ultimate reward.
BUT, there IS a hint of understanding....There is always hope when you rise each morning and face a new day! LOVE this!! A wonderful read!!! thank you very much! :-)

[Tate Morgan]

Susan thank you fir stopping by and commenting it's nice to meet you I am Tate

[Susan 🦋]

I really enjoyed this piece! Hope to read more soon.

[Tate Morgan]

Stop by any time I have been absent for some time from here. I go through spurts when i write and then i stop. I am recovering from one of those where I took time to let the well refill itself

[Neva Flores Smith - Cha..]

Sweet Tate, your poems are always full of wisdom and genuine beauty. Thank you for this one my friend.

[Kes]

Wow. That's got me thinking!
Fantastic poem - good job!

[KAREN]

Very thought provoking, and the message is so real in this poem. This is beautiful and well written as always!

[rosemary keogh]

Thats great tate. really makes me think about life. amazing poem

[WhiteWillow]

It is a hard thing for Man to look in the mirror, and see his true self. With age comes humility, and hopefully, wisdom. Those things which mattered more to us earlier in life fall away, revealing the true necessities in life. Blessed be those who discover this truth earlier in life. Very nice piece.

[Sugar Plum ♥]

Very nicely written and deep philosophical poem! just with one remark, I don`t think death is any choice! Specially from God, He gave us all choices, but that is impossible to escape from, as Love too! for me your choice should be Love, and it never fades..:) I liked this :
"Besides birth, only one has worth
try using your heart, not your brain"

~nia~

[Allen Smuckler]

Magnificent write Tate...
a masterpiece
You have a great art of story telling...
terrific way to end
loved it
allen

[Chris]

valid thoughts...

[Joanna Maharis]

The story in this piece reminds me of something I saw on a television news program. It dealth with this young man who sought fame as a gossip journalist. But in the end, he hit rock bottom and got into a lot of trouble. He then realized that the most important things in life were his family and his self respect. I really like your piece, in that it's not only about what one desires to have in life, but it talks about what things are most important in life. Because in the end, we discover that what we thought we needed, was not all that important at all. It's about realizing what is really important in ones life. At least this was the meaning I got out of your poem.

[light and ashes]

Beautiful :) A phenomenal poem that rings out true and teaches us a very important lesson, 100