Plots

[HLemma]

First we strive for liberty,

and then we pine for love;

next, we court prosperity

and whine there’s not enough.

 

Finally, in wisdom’s throes

we beg for looser chains,

then death to free us from the woes

that pay for worldly gains.

 

[Ike]

Hi Hugh,

I see this one as the progression through life, always yearning for something. And the conclusion- that it'll never be enough. Reminds me of this picture(sorry its so big). I'm also intrigued by the last line, it seems like even though nothing was enough, we still have to pay- kind of cynical. I like this piece a lot, reads very nicely.

Ike

[Colm Roe]

It's not bad...but it's not really saying anything new. 
Reminds me of the Dalai Lama:
 
Man. Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.”

It's easy for him to say. If he had children to bring up and educate he'd know all about having to make money...and how we often decide to sacrifice our health for them 
 

[HLemma]

Hi Hugh,

I see this one as the progression through life, always yearning for something. And the conclusion- that it'll never be enough. Reminds me of this picture(sorry its so big). I'm also intrigued by the last line, it seems like even though nothing was enough, we still have to pay- kind of cynical. I like this piece a lot, reads very nicely.

Ike
 

Thanks for your reply, Ike. I'm glad you liked it.

[HLemma]

It's not bad...but it's not really saying anything new. 
Reminds me of the Dalai Lama:
 
Man. Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.”

It's easy for him to say. If he had children to bring up and educate he'd know all about having to make money...and how we often decide to sacrifice our health for them 
 

Agreed, Colm. Thanks for your reply.

It is rare for any medium to say anything new. 
 

[HLemma]

Usually I don't like politics and poetry to intertwine because it comes off as preachy. This poem speaks a lot of truth however. On the second reading I got less politics from it and more a simple meditation on the human condition.

No politics in this piece, AT. Just a few observations about American life. Thanks for your interest.

[indar]

First we strive for liberty,

and then we pine for love;

next, we court prosperity

and whine there’s not enough.

 

Finally, in wisdom’s throes

we beg for looser chains,

then death to free us from the woes

that pay for worldly gains.

 

This piece is constructed almost entirely from abstract concepts (liberty, love, prosperity, wisdom) and trite phrases (death free us from woes, worldly gains). Its not that there is nothing new to articulate through poetry as much as offer fresh insights as varied as individual writers into persistent human concerns, foibles, experience.