Life Poem by Ngetich Kiptoo

What is life but an empty shell
What is life but a hollow emptiness
We walk around in gold
Ours ears glittering in pearls
To blind the anguish beneath
We thirst for diamond
As if it were air itself
What is life
I ask you
What is life
Is it being adorned in myrrh
Or in exclusive flowing garments
What is the worth of all this
Don’t call me naïve
For I have seen them
Them that have all this
Them have it all
Them that are already there
And are now coming back
Yes I have seen them
They moan and mourn
I moan and mourn too
But I am in high spirits
I am bewildered
Give me an answer
That will make me rest
It’s stifling me
Or maybe life is living in lavish hotels
Or having boxfuls of cash
What is life
But wastefulness and ingratitude
What is life
But betrayal and folly
What is it but thirst
Thirst for shallowness
Thirst for meaninglessness
Why live carefully
Only to perish carelessly
Why live carelessly
Only to live longer