Panning for Principle

There is no value in life except what you choose to place upon it and no happiness in any place except what you bring to it yourself. - Thoreau

Today I found an old coin.

Down and out.

I thought it was made of lead.

It had Caesar's head.

But he's dead.

Then I saw what I thought was fool's gold.

I shined it and examined it closely.

Discovering the essence of a lost soul.

Golden, valuable, precious and rare.

Unique.

I wonder what it was doing ...

... in s**t's creek ...

Author's Note

"The gold-digger is the enemy of the honest laborer, whatever checks and compensations there may be. It is not enough to tell me that you worked hard to get your gold. So does the Devil work hard. The way of transgressors may be hard in many respects." - Thoreau

Reviews

[Shy Joe]

Feeling lost and wrong in the flow of life is quite normal, I would think. There are so many variables to the maze we traverse. The viscosity of s***s creek makes it hard to move, but if we keep at it, the friction will loosen fools gold's plating. Exposing ourselves, to ourselves. Thank you for such a good poem Pete.

[Pete]

i like that word, 'viscosity'. what you say so true - the gold finds its way to the surface of good hearts. thank you for sharing thoughts joe ... :)

[barleygirl]

This is one of the most sparkling poems I've read of yours. I love everything about it. The title makes me love this poem immediately. I love how you show instead of tell with hard-hitting & perfectly-honed analogies. I love how this drips with sarcasm, not just in how your analogy is thrown down, but in the cynical tone dripping thru-out. Most of all, your s**t's creek ending is an unexpected zinger that slaps your point home (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[Pete]

as usual i didn't think much of this when i wrote it. i am quote fond of my tongue-and-cheek ending though as i'm sure you are aware of by now and you mention the cynicism. thank you emerging yourself in the not so lovely creek margie. your gold glitters in my book ... :)