Futility
Oh what cruel fate has led me
to reflect in somber rhyme
Of painful woes remembered
over wind swept fields of time
And what fools speak of promise
in the calming light of day
Then huddle in cold shadows
as their hope lies in decay
Oh shame on them for teaching me
of words so loftily spoken
And shame on me believing
numbed to what my tears' betoken
No contemplation thoughtful though
it may be practiced here
alleviates the pain beneath
this tenuous veneer
No good can come of this I know
for none has come before
And yet I pause and look again
as if for something more
Oh tell me why I torture so
my own relenting soul
I peer inside this vessel and
unto my grief behold
Still furthermore I speak of love
and quiet bliss therein
Once never have I captured such
Yet seek it out again
The most contented creatures
never once a poem cast
If ever would they anguish
over incidence of past
And nothing in these words I find
and write in simple phrase
relieves me of this agony
I live throughout the days
No verse so carefully arranged
has ever eased my mind
What fool am I believing
herein happiness I'll find
