Let Them Eat Cake Poem by Mike Smith
Let Them Eat Cake
To be satisfied
Content
To feel as if All is as it should be
It is rare
Practically unachievable
Surely I've got what I Need
Need, in my situation, is very easily fulfilled
Oxygen, check
Nourishment, check
Protection from the elements, check
But then there is Want
All the extras
All the luxuries that are taken daily for granted
I don't think myself a greedy person
But I do have a plentiful list of Want
And I fear, nay predict, nay (all but) guarantee
If tomorrow my list were checked off
My wishes granted
It would only make me Want more
After an unsettlingly short period of appreciation
I would only grow to desire further
To construct a new list
And not to be satisfied until I'd fulfilled it
I'm not proud of this
In fact it somewhat sickens me
My gluttony
But I believe it to be true
What I Want will never only be what I Need
Or even what I have already
I will never think I have enough
But what's likely
Is that I've got too much already
We can only overcome so much of our basic nature; at least on a conscious level. Want beyond need is illogical, emotional and usually destructive.
I know what you mean, Mike. Some people are aware of this and adapt, the others that are aware don't. What's worse, most aren't aware and wouldn't change if they were. I often feel content but oddly, I seldom feel truly happy.
Content I think I've achieved plenty of times. And I've known my share of happiness... But to limit my want to a humble level, that is where I struggle. Thanks Kelly
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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5/7/2024 12:17:05 AM # 1.0.0.1119
Mike, I recognise this trait but genuinely think it recedes with age, or at least the things on your want list move from being tangibles to intangibles. When you ask your partner what they want for their birthday or Christmas and the answer is, I don't know, there is nothing really that I need., that is when you have moved on to that stage in life when health, happiness etc count much more than the latest iphone.
Well put. I think my struggle is more in finding the line between ambition and greed. I strive to succeed in the things I do. And success often brings rewards. I know it as a fact that I have more than everything I need to get by in the society I live in. But even fully knowing this, I can't stop myself from wanting more than that.