Bought and Sold

Bought and Sold 8/3/2012

I drove by the old house
Because my wife asked me to
I didn’t want to see it
But she made me anyway.

Someone finally bought it
And a dumpster was in the driveway
Because they ripping it apart
All that work
Gone in a day.

They cut down the trees
I planted in the front
And yanked out all the shrubs
That I trimmed so many times.

I could see through the windows
As I drove by
And I noticed that the bookcases
Were also gone as well.

I thought about the many hours
I had spent building that castle
And how in the blink of an eye
All of it was gone.

It doesn’t matter what I think about it
And it doesn’t matter how it looks
Because what is gone is gone
And what is over
Is just another memory.

Someday I’ll have another
And I will hang pictures
And paint the walls
But I will never be the same
Now that I’ve lived
And now that I know.

Not everything is at it seems
And nothing lasts forever
It lives just for a moment
And never comes back again.

There were many things I loved
And there were many happy times
But there was also sadness
And heartache.

We waste our time
And we waste our love
Betting it all on nothing
Here today
And gone tomorrow.

Climbing all over each other
And clamoring for promotion
More interested in titles
Than personal growth.

Without a conscience
And without a soul
Willing to do anything
To get what they want.

But all of this is a waste
Nothing but a treasure chest
Full of smoke
Without substance
Or form.

Even kings rot
And their glory forgotten
Nothing but a footnote
And unknown by most.

Remembered In text books
By the time of the reign
Their kingdoms replaced
And their legacies
Supplanted and erased.

All that we have
Is nothing but dust
And all that we throw away
Is irreplaceable.

No one thinks about
What is best for all
But only what is best for them
In the here and now.

As forgetful as they are vain
We conspire and plan
Rolling the dice against eternity
And losing every time.

You can never make
A better life
For one
By tearing down another.

And nothing gained from robbery
Shall ever be a blessing
Spreading nothing but cancer
From the inside out.

As I drive I away
It is then that I know
That my treasure is who I love
And what I did.

More a measure of character
Than it is of my success
And infinitely more valuable
Than my name.

I shall appreciate every moment
And remember every smile
Striving for humility
And integrity.

And with nothing to hide
And nothing to regret
I shall have it all
From now until forever.