A Reason for Living
Greg Lanier 1962 (Atlanta, GA)
A pebble breathes a gasp of life,
The slap of birth - my shoe.
Then once again is laid to rest
‘Neath firmaments of blue.
Its life span is no consequence.
For what is time, you see.
The concept here is that the world
Has changed because of me.
The fools of stature scoff and say,
’Tis nothing but a stone.
The mountains must thou move before
Ye call the world thine own.
I scream refute in silence.
Just take it from me, please,
Would that I succumb the lust
To feign prosperity.
I cannot lie and say that I
Have never felt the sting.
That serpent’s curse of mortal men,
The dream of being king.
But when I muse a starry night
As Earth a speck of sand,
‘Tis then I know there’s more to life
Than money, homes and land.
But should I e’re move mountains
Or part a mighty sea,
I pray that some small voice will cry
To mind humility.
Divine, my inspiration,
Perchance my gasp permits,
To leave for one poor traveler
A reason to exist.
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Submitted by GregLanier on May 10, 2021
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 54 sec read
- 11 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABXB CDXD XEXE CXXD FGXG XHAH XDFD XXXX |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 926 |
Words | 181 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
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"A Reason for Living" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 16 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/99614/a-reason-for-living>.
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