Humanistic Question... Poem by Stephen S. Yeandle

Is personal
happiness to be
justified
by
whatever means
it takes?

No I do not believe
that is the proper
conduct.

We also might
remember,
a sad distressing
constituent
of happiness
is despair,
it so commonly
generates,
as we go about
a selfish pursuit.

The goal of life
it’s said.

A misguided
but useful notion.

Inoculate the serfs and servants
the troubled parishioner
with a thought;
of
divine dispensation in the end
and it will pay a dividend.

The wicked and insane
smiling ear to ear
contented as a meadow lark
blissfully waging war,
or raping someone down the street.

Happy they are
indeed.

A graveyard full of stepping stones
to reach this special goal.

What’s become of magnanimity
a duty to improve oneself
along with a fellow man,
to use ones gifts for ethics sake.

Concern and respect for others?

Inalienable right
this anxious chase.

Prosperous amenities
passively ignoring
ancillary consequences.

Personal happiness;
all too often
a
catatonic elixir...