Names And Photographs Poem by Aidan Clevinger

I look around at people today and their priorities (especially teenagers, people my age) , and I wonder what happened to our world. Achievement and success are held up as the pillars of happiness, the foundation of joy and fulfillment. But so often we have to sacrifice our memories, our relationships, and our loved ones to get them. I'd rather be a loved and loving nobody than a lonely somebody.

Everyone just wants to get ahead,
Achievement is something they can't live without.
But as I watch them scurry, I wonder,
Is this really what it's all about?

They're not in it for the money,
They don't care about the fame.
They just want to be the best at something,
They just want to make a name.

So with gasoline and matches
They set their photographs aflame.
Sweet memories, now sacrificed,
For this thing they call a name.

On the edge of the fire I stand,
Is this really the right thing to do?
Can I butcher these pictures of my friends,
My family, me and you?

Perhaps no one will know me,
And this race of life I'll lose.
But between my loved ones and my name,
It's the photographs I choose.