Fool's Gold

A life lesson that most of us take a while to learn and some never do.

You work and you work,

To get better and better,

Page by page,

Letter by letter.

The more you learn,

The more you know,

The more they pay,

The more you grow.

The more you know,

The higher you rise,

The larger the picture,

The higher the skies.

More new skills,

Still more money,

But much less fun,

Isn't that funny?

No!

You've learned so much,

You've mastered it all,

But you wake one day,

And it's no fun at all!

What you enjoyed starting out,

Has vanished with your success.

You have everything you wanted,

But it has all become meaningless.

As with ladies lingerie,

Oft times less is more.

Turn back to what it was you loved,

Close ambition's beckoning door.

Be true to yourself, follow your dreams,

Never lose your sense of fun.

Life's too short to do the wrong thing,

Have no regrets when it's done.

© 2017 The Iron Horseman

Reviews

[Morgan Bland]

I truly love this poem. As an individual who has just chosen to pursue their passion in architecture instead of the more prestigious considered career of Civil Engineering, it is truly appreciated. So often people plan their entire lives on a basis of money & possessions. They are important for survival, yes, and arguably comfort, but are surly not what truly instill meaning in life.

[The Iron Horseman]

Thank you for taking the time to read and review this; it is truly appreciated. I am glad that it resonated with you; so many people lose sight of what is truly important in their lives. I wish you good fortune in pursuing your dream!

[Julie McCarthy (juliesp..]

this is still interesting to me a year later you have submitted this for my competition, i enjoyed the read greatly again, ,thanks and good luck

[The Iron Horseman]

Lol! I'm pleased to hear that! It's actually one of my favorite pieces, so I am glad you like it too.

[Julie McCarthy (juliesp..]

This is beautiful similar in words to one I wrote on my f b page a while ago I'm yet to find it but yours is great

[The Iron Horseman]

Thank you, Julie. I look forward to seeing yours.

[Julie McCarthy (juliespenhere)]

They all there if u wish

[fadingtale]

My favorite stanza from this poem: "
Be true to yourself, follow your dreams,

Never lose your sense of fun.

Life's too short to do the wrong thing,

Have no regrets when it's done."

This is a beautiful poem! Thanks for submitting for the inspiration contest!

[The Iron Horseman]

Thank you. Glad you liked it.

[Coyote Poetry]

I agree with the below words and logic.
"Be true to yourself, follow your dreams,
Never lose your sense of fun.
Life's too short to do the wrong thing,
Have no regrets when it's done."
The above words. Great wisdom shared. Thank you for sharing the excellent poetry.
Coyote

[The Iron Horseman]

Thank you for your kind words, Coyote.

[Coyote Poetry]

You are welcome my friend.

[C_theSurrealist]

It's very impressive! You make us realize the worth of every moment we live. Money can't buy the true happiness and it has no value when we die... Job well done. Keep writing!! :D

[The Iron Horseman]

Thank you, C. There is a line from an old Don Henley song that I always liked"
' You don't see too many hearses with luggage racks.'

[Allie]

The rhyme and rhythm is great! It grabbed me from the start, I really enjoyed reading it!

[The Iron Horseman]

Thank you, Allie.

[BBP]

I really loved the layout on this. The rhymes were perfect and the humor was just enough to balance out the horrible truth of it all!

We live to work, when we should work to live.

[The Iron Horseman]

Thank you. Your last line says it all!

[BBP]

Unfortunately...

[Poetic License]

My personal motto:

"Be true to yourself, follow your dreams,
Never lose your sense of fun."

I love the span of application of this poem, IH. Family, work, friendship, hobbies, it is relevant to all, especially to writers. Thank you for the timely reminder.

[The Iron Horseman]

Thanks, PL. So many people just never understand this simple truth.

[Poetic License]

It's a hard one to accept - understanding is simple, but to accept and embrace it is another thing altogether. How can it be that this thing in which we have invested all of our energy, time, money, love, power...our everything - how could it turn into anything but the source of our ultimate, final happiness. We make the destination our life statement and punctuate it with an "I mean it" exclamation point. Maybe, we should invest in more commas.

[The Iron Horseman]

Love the analogy! Regular pauses for thought should definitely be part of the curriculum.

[Poetic License]

Agreed. You know, we should really collaborate on a life manual...

[The Iron Horseman]

I have written enough user manuals in the vourse of my life, thank you very much! What are you punishing me for? :)

[Poetic License]

Parrot disease. Clearly.

[Poetic License]

LOL - indeed. So, on to the next horror write...then we comment all over again! (Just a friendly suggestion, of course.) ;-)

[The Iron Horseman]

Psittacosis to you too! :D
Now I am in a fever dream.
Oh no, we just did that one, didn't we? lol.

[The Iron Horseman]

Coming write (sic) up!

[Poetic License]

Yay! Cannot weight (double sic)!

[The Iron Horseman]

Snarf... as a friend of mine likes to say! :D

[Poetic License]

Squee! (Yeah, I soooo dare you to squeal!)

[The Iron Horseman]

Sorry, I don't do squeals! :D

[Island Hippy]

Aloha, great poem. Climbing the ladder often leaves casualties. When it's your family and your dignity you have to think whether it's all worth it. Izzy

[The Iron Horseman]

Thanks, Izzy. I'm glad you liked it.

[Island Hippy]

You're welcome