Cheated

All your life you've worked and slaved
Forgetting it won't matter from the grave
Been too busy to live life
Each passing day is toil and strife

From rise to setting sun each day
For just a little joy you pray
What happened to the life you dreamed
When all was just as it seemed

Worship the all mighty dollar
In a yoke called a collar
Gripped tightly in its grasp
Wearing societies mask

For fresh air we gasp and cry
Putrid is the air inside
Dead and rotting though alive
In work's coffin barely survive

One by one the office shuns
As they seek to see the sun
Breath fresh air see open sky
Reaching for the best kind of high

One by one each worker sees
More money is a disease
It eats our life and spreads like fire
When we seek to be hired

True it can start out as fun
But when all is said and done
Money makes us weak
For our lives it cheats

Having more is not the answer
Material things are like a cancer
Spreading out into our lives
Choking joy and blinding eyes

Forever feeling less then done
Never see the rising sun
Always when the check arrives
Eating joy from our lives

Instead of living day to day
We slowly fall in decay
When the last day finally comes
And all sounds cease to hum

What good was this life undone
No joy no hope no rising sun
Looking back this bed I lie
Kissing my world goodbye

If a chance I had again
Never more would I sin
And follow worldly words from the wise
Telling me to work and rise

Give me peaceful place to nest
Let me tell all the rest
Forget the god of material gain
Seek your life to sustain

Reviews

[David W Moore III]

In taking one step forward and concentrating so hard on just continuing forward, looking to reach that far off goal, we often miss each day. The cliche stop and smell the flowers has much validity. When is the last time we sat down and pondered the wondrous complexity of a flower; the construction, the colors, the smell. And that is but one tiny piece of what we pass each day in our striving to get more stuff.

[Moonflower]

Very well written and agreeable. Thanks for sharing, dear~

[Samuel Dickens]

I think you and I share similar views in this respect. I know that so many in this world crave wealth, power, and material posessions, but I don't understand why. You can't take any of it with you, and in the end, it is only the good you've done that has any value or meaning. Your last stanza says it all.

[Coyote Poetry]

When we learn. We don't need everything. Then we have gain wisdom. Your words are true. Money is the base of happiness till we lose someone important in our life. Then we learn we should of sat on the porch longer and had longer conversations with people we miss today. A outstanding poem. A lot of common sense wisdom in your words.
Coyote

[Marie Harrison]

An amazing poem. When we make money our God, it does rob us of our joy and happiness. Wonderful poem.