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

[Lydia Blackwell]

Choice is a double edged sword, isn't it? Everyone wants the freedom of choice, but no one wants the responsibility that choice brings... I choose love every time, even with it's ups and downs.... nice poem to make us all think, Tate. glad to see you are still writing :)

[Tate Morgan]

Oh Lydia how long has it been? Years I think. But i still remember you. So nice to see you again. I hope all is well. I am now a grandfather of three soon to be four. Since last we spoke i have published 3 books and remarried. LOL how time flies. Thank you so much for stopping over.

[M.A.]

I loved this piece so much, I had to come and review it even though it placed in my contest. What I loved about it was like it hit everything a person faces in life. There is never a perfect choice, they all bring a assortment of happiness and sandiness. We always get a life lesson in every choice we make. A little piece of own personally wisdom. Even though we do not hear the words from God when he places; Pleasure, Fame, Riches, Love, and Death. Into our path I believe he is saying something along the lines of this. He places those things before to teach us and to help us be the person we were meant to be. Thank you for sharing.

[Tate Morgan]

Thank you MA yes we learn the hard way contentment is happiness in that vain we should all strive to want less and give more

[Fabian G. Franklin]

They say pride was the first sin...I'd venture vanity was not far behind...I don't study on myself very much at all because there are far too many things far more interesting to me than me. I've never really cared what others thought of me...but I do try to be kind and honest...sometimes those contradict and then I am bound to be honest...my eldest daughter says I am "brutally honest"...I don't know about all that. I just always thought if one tells the truth, one never has to wonder what one has said because the truth doesn't change to suit our feelings or our company. I have a great many faults and character flaws and some would say that honesty is one of them. I know I am impatient, bold and, to quote T.S. Eliot, "Full of high sentence but at times, a bit obtuse." And if I ever cared at all what anyone else thought of me...it would be animals and small children...and I seem to do quite well with both of them. I have observed this through the years, the very rich of "old money" never flaunt their wealth...but those on the upper rungs of the ladder of succcess strut like peacocks and love to show off their latest "toys". The very successful seldom lord their positions of power over others but those hungry for the taste of power are often tyrants and bullies. And the rich man never says to the poor, "I'm just as good as you are!" The beautiful girl never says to the "Plain Jane"..."I'm every bit as pretty as you!"...There is no great equalizer except death...to which money, power, beauty and youth mean nothing. It's not a difficult lesson to learn or bear in mind. If "All men were created equal" as Jefferson said, we were certainly born to vastly different fortunes, positions, advantages and privileges. We are ony "equal" in the most base of terms, we live and we die and there, the distinction ends. I enjoyed the thought provoking read.

[Tate Morgan]

Fabian this is one of the greatest reviews i ever read.Full to the rim with wisdom from a lifetime of observation . Full of high sentence but at times, a bit obtuse." And if I ever cared at all what anyone else thought of me...it would be animals and small children...and I seem to do quite well with both of them. I too do best by animals and children. And as you so notably mentioned As with all the humble rivers roll
death will level property and pride
Awaiting providence and time
rich and poor sleep side by side

Thank you Fabian !
Your Friend
Tate

[Morgan]

i love it.. i have not read a poem so well in a long time.

[Tate Morgan]

Hello Morgan thank you. I have to think this one took me quite a while to create it has intricacies that put me in knots. Thank you

[Amy R]

Amazingly written with such great meaning!
keep up the great works! :)

[Tate Morgan]

Thank you I appreciate the kindness. this one took me some time to write and it has so many twists and turns it almost hurt lol

[Amy R]

aww damn I figured it, but after all u mastered it! :)

[Tate Morgan]

Well many i write are easy to to configure this wasnt one of them this took me forever

[Amy R]

forever=perfection!

[Tate Morgan]

I am a consummate perfectionist always tweaking my works to no end

[xhannyx]

Oh my this was so good! Such a pleasure to read this! I wish I could write like this! (:

[Tate Morgan]

Thank you very much I am happy you liked it

[xhannyx]

np. And I really did!

[Tate Morgan]

I am Tate nice to meet you Tell me about you

[xhannyx]

Im Hannah. Nice to meet you too. I love literature...kinda new to writing poetry. yeah. how about you?

[Tate Morgan]

Well I write poetry i am an ex harness horseman I use to race horses like my family have for 6 generations. I am 55 started writing at 47 when i got divorced . i have published three books so far

[xhannyx]

Wow that's impressive!

[Tate Morgan]

Thank you very much

[Al R. Arce]

This is an outstanding piece! Unfortunately it does not fall under the theme of the contest. This is more of a phylosophical, life lesson type of work than a rant or insult. Outstanding piece nonetheless.

[MomzillaNC]

This is such an excellent poem! The man looks at himself and sees growth, without realizing he's still only taking. From the outset, his greed for fulfilling his own desires leads him again and again down the empty path. Even when he finally looks to love, it's for his own need, not hers. Wow. Man or woman, we all forget: love isn't what you receive, but what you give.

[Tate Morgan]

Thank you today is the final day with my son as he leaves for college tomorrow raising him has been the joy of my life I think my heart will break http://www.writerscafe.org/writing/aristate/1196689/

[MomzillaNC]

Y'know, I feel the same about my boy. He's 10 and the joy of my heart. Who would have thought such a frustrating, rewarding, exhausting, uplifting, demanding, giving sacrificing, fulfilling experience could be bound up in any person, especially such a small and demanding one!

[Tate Morgan]

I have written many of my son but of all the creations this one is the one I cannot read to this dayhttp://www.writerscafe.org/writing/aristate/717995/

[melissa]

This is amazing poem tate Keep up the great work i love reading them you are amazing writer

[Tate Morgan]

Thank you very much

[melissa]

Your welcome

[Honey-Bee]

Wonderful! Surely wisdom has found you now, choose your fate before it is to late Great!

[Tate Morgan]

Some of us learn the hard way that would be me lol