Are we not programmed
to want more and not value less?

This is the way society
has constructed its skyscraper
of the latest
and greatest,
the newest,
and the best,
covered with flashing
neon signs and imagery
one cannot escape.

And we all have to have
it in this lust that keeps the
economy going, and the wealthy
wealthy, and boardrooms smiling
about obedient consumers
who are taught that to
spend and desire more
is the greatest good
and part of this modern creed.

I have fallen into this way
and tasted the apple of desire,
and craved for the best as
temptation in front of my eyes.

Can I deprogram myself
and find another way:
to simplicity,
to the power of less,
to seeing the worm in the apple
and the snake on the ground?

Can I open my eyes to the
state of the world and what greed
has done to all that is hidden,
and the shape of what is here?

I have no answer to these questions
for I am in the garden of desire
crafted for me so beautifully
across all that I see.

And do I really want to leave
and go to the wilderness instead?
Can I make a choice and desire less?

 

7/8/2023