Selfishness
Search history, my boy, and see
What petty selfishness has done.
Find if you can one victory
That little minds have ever won.
There is no record there to read
Of men who fought for self alone,
No instance of a single deed
Splendor they may proudly own.
Through all life's story you will find
The miser—with his hoarded gold—
A hermit, dreary and unkind,
An outcast from the human fold.
Men hold him up to view with scorn,
A creature by his wealth enslaved,
A spirit craven and forlorn,
Doomed by the money he has saved.
No man was ever truly great
Who sought to serve himself alone,
Who put himself above the state,
Above the friends about him thrown.
No man was ever truly glad
Who risked his joy on hoarded pelf,
And gave of nothing that he had
Through fear of needing it himself.
For selfishness is wintry cold,
And bitter are its joys at last,
The very charms it tries to hold,
With woes are quickly overcast.
And only he shall gladly live,
And bravely die when God shall call,
Who gathers but that he may give,
And with his fellows shares his all.
poem by Edgar Albert Guest
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Related quotes
Ideals
Better than land or gold or trade
Are a high ideal and a purpose true;
Better than all of the wealth we've made
Is the work for others that now we do.
For Rome grew rich and she turned to song
And danced to music and drank her wine,
But she sapped the strength of her fibres strong
And a gilded shroud was her splendor fine.
The Rome of old with its wealth and wine
Was the handiwork of a sturdy race;
They builded well and they made it fine
And they dreamed of it as their children's place.
They thought the joys they had won to give,
And which seemed so certain and fixed and sure,
To the end of time in the world would live
And the Rome they'd fashioned would long endure.
They passed to their children the hoarded gold,
Their marble halls and their fertile fields!
But not the spirit of Rome of old,
Nor the Roman courage that never yields.
They left them the wealth that their hands had won,
But they failed to leave them a purpose true.
They left them thinking life's work all done,
And Rome went down and was lost to view.
We must guard ourselves lest we follow Rome.
We must leave our children the finer things.
We must teach them love of the spot called home
And the lasting joy that a purpose brings.
For vain are our Flag and our battles won,
And vain are our lands and our stores of gold,
If our children feel that life's work is done.
We must give them a high ideal to hold.
poem by Edgar Albert Guest
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Colors, the Poem
Every color has a meaning for our being,
They can aggravate, give calmness or spiritual healing.
Let's start with RED, life, hunger, anger, sex and doing,
When the BLUE is for thinking, the truth, calming and healing.
The GREEN is a healer, can give great hope
In the goodness & a beautiful tomorrow to develop.
Until YELLOW means wisdom for the mind,
When BROWN is earthyness, & selfishness for human kind.
WHITE is for the angels, not for us here on Earth,
Gives great impatient, nervousness, down to the dirt.
BLACK is emptiness with boldness, but no logic,
Without knowing the consequences, almost ironic.
SILVER OR GRAY is helping to find your confidence,
Some of the gray can give fear, terror or a need to self defense
Until GOLD is materialistic on the ignorant way,
However, PINK is God's love for the Universe's play.
ORANGE is the healer with red (life) & yellow (wisdom) ,
Until MAROON (red-black) gives selfishness & not stardom.
PURPLE is red & blue, what you think you do,
VIOLET has more blue for the spirit & for you.
poem by LaSoaphia QuXazs
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
The Place Where The Rainbow Ends
THERE'S a fabulous story
Full of splendor and glory,
That Arabian legends transcends;
Of the wealth without measure,
The coffers of treasure,
At the place where the rainbow ends.
Oh, many have sought it,
And all would have bought it,
With the blood we so recklessly spend;
But none has uncovered,
The gold, nor discovered
The spot at the rainbow's end.
They have sought it in battle,
And e'en where the rattle
Of dice with man's blasphemy blends;
But howe'er persuasive,
It still proves evasive,
This place where the rainbow ends.
I own for my pleasure,
I yearn not for treasure,
Though gold has a power it lends;
And I have a notion,
To find without motion,
The place where the rainbow ends.
The pot may hold pottage,
The place be a cottage,
That a humble contentment defends,
Only joy fills its coffer,
But spite of the scoffer,
There's the place where the rainbow ends.
Where care shall be quiet,
And love shall run riot,
And I shall find wealth in my friends;
Then truce to the story,
Of riches and glory;
There's the place where the rainbow ends.
poem by Paul Laurence Dunbar
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Selfishness and sacrifice
Selfishness and sacrifices,
Like cold and heat, eat each other.
Either extreme would cause damage.
Selfishness is for one’s survival.
Sacrifice is for one’s group’s survival.
To force others to serve your end
Is worse than selfishness; avoid.
Be warm, which is half cold, half hot.
24.01.2011
poem by Rm. Shanmugam Chettiar
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Gold!
Gold! Gold! Gold! Gold!
Bright and yellow, hard and cold
Molten, graven, hammered and rolled,
Heavy to get and light to hold,
Hoarded, bartered, bought and sold,
Stolen, borrowed, squandered, doled,
Spurned by young, but hung by old
To the verge of a church yard mold;
Price of many a crime untold.
Gold! Gold! Gold! Gold!
Good or bad a thousand fold!
How widely it agencies vary,
To save - to ruin - to curse - to bless -
As even its minted coins express :
Now stamped with the image of Queen Bess,
And now of a bloody Mary.
poem by Thomas Hood
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Like Chased Bees Jarred In Backyards
An outcast is safe from being captured,
Like chased bees jarred in backyards...
To buzz,
As curious kids collecting insects...
During a Spring bloom.
An outcast is safe from being captured,
From those places declared...
To have a social etiquette impaired.
But times as they are do change for them.
An outcasting experienced,
Eventually frees them from minds...
Once locked in.
To find in changing times that arrive...
Those who chose to criticize,
Now find their points of view despised.
And like those trapped bees once caught in jars,
Are sought more today than they ever were.
Since people have come to realize,
A needing of the bees...
Like those chosen to be outcast,
Are part of a cycle that helps life thrive.
And if pieces of it are picked to dismiss...
Life as we know it,
Dies!
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Surtax
When I was young and Scottish I
Allergic was to spending;
I put a heap of bawbees by,
But now my life is ending,
Although I would my hoarded pelf
Impetuously scatter,
Each day I live I find myself
Financially fatter.
Though all the market I might buy,
There's nothing to my needing;
I only have one bed to lie,
One mouth for feeding.
So what's the good of all that dough
Accumulating daily?
I should have spent it long ago
In living gaily.
So take my tip, my prudent friend,
Without misgiving;
Don't guard your fortune to the end,
But blow it living.
Better on bubbly be it spent,
And chorus cuties,
Than pay it to the Government
For damned Death Duties.
poem by Robert William Service
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Hold Out
Baby I guess you know my story
Baby I guess you know my side
It seems Ive traded love for glory
But Im still not satisfied
Given all the years
All the cries and cheers
Dont amount to much more than pride
Take my love for you
Take tomorrow too
Theres not much left inside
How we laughed when we first knew love
Singing dum-de-lum-de-lie
I taught you how to see life through love
Then I taught you how to cry
And though I must have known
How easily love is thrown
I took some chances, I dont know why
Theres not much you can do
You wish that Id been true
Darlin so do i
Now you better hold out
Go on and hold out
Go ahead and hold out
For what you know love can be
Move on and hold out
Dont let your love be sold out
If theres anyone who knows about it
Baby thats me
Ahh youre right
You cant forget the way I lied
Time has seen you grow,
To lead your life alone
Though you tried and tried
Cried and cried
Baby I guess you know my story
Maybe theres not much left to say
You know the more we take the more we
Turn each others hearts away
Now Ill be leaving in the morning
Leaving half of me behind
To find the pieces lifes been torn in
And take whatever love I find
But you better hold out
Go on and hold out
Just walk away and hold out
For what you know love can be
Move on and hold out
Dont let your love be sold out
Its starting to be cold out
For people who live like me
Move on and hold out
And somewhere later no doubt
Youll find another hold out
Someone just like you baby, wait and see..
song performed by by Jackson Browne
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Sonnet: ‘World’s Celebrities? ’
O world-famous figures, Celebrities!
What use have you been to the common-man?
Your life got spent in alluring cities;
Your selfishness tilts down the weighing-pan.
O, how much wealth need you to acquire?
And how much wealth can you spend on this earth?
And how much wealth do you utmost require?
And how much wealth can give you immense mirth?
Just think awhile, the world has such poor souls!
Half-naked silhouettes with famished frames;
Could you not put your wealth to better roles
And see the ‘Book of Life’ record your names?
Your progeny can’t sleep on money-beds!
Excessive wealth can turn them mere block-heads.
9-23-2002
poem by John Celes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
God and man
Although God may be known,
apart from the way we do
in worlds, planets unknown
even if we do not mean to,
we judge Him as we find Him in our own
but He knows us from our design, the plan,
knows everything that is thrown
in to a mere body, mind and soul, into man
but more intimately He knows every thought,
sees every single deed
whether good or bad, sought or unsought
and if we live to a creed or however we proceed
but who can tell me why we are born
into a world that is torn apart, into a place of scorn?
poem by Gert Strydom
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
To Build A Dream
The world can be dark and lonely,
Some light is hard to find
One longs for hope and happiness
To calm a troubled mind
Day in, day out, we work and strive,
To make our lives complete
One thing is sure and life will prove
Success is quite a fate
But can success be measured
In all that gleams of gold?
Or do we still search farther
To see what life will hold?
Of course we know we can't deny
That it will take much more
To build a dream, to find a path
To what we're searching for
Great men have died throughout the years
Without this truth so clear
That life is loving and caring for
The people we hold dear
There are those who take and take
And never give a damn
For them the creed of kindness
Is nothing but a sham
True happiness can never come
To people such as these
For in the end, they'll be alone
And wonder what they've missed
Love and human kindness
Can only come one way
By proving through our actions
Each and every day
That we can give as well as take
Help lift another's load
Turn the darkness into a day
Along life's weary road
So why you ask, do I go on?
This verse is nothing new
Well, I just thought I'd let you know
I've found the best in you... to build a dream!
God gave me a neck with limited turns only to know who are on my sides, to look down what I have lost, and to look up that He is watching. In fact, He gave a full body to hold my senses so I could turn around and look back to those who had helped me.
poem by Efren Petalver Carranza
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Ask One Other Than Me
What's life all about ask one other than me
The madness I see in others in my own self I see
For success with each other we are made to compete
And victory for one to another defeat.
I envy those with the gift of empathy
Our selfishness in a true sense our spiritual poverty
How can you say that one is truly a great
If she or he to the suffering of others seem unable to relate.
In a success driven Human World what is success anyway
We are born into life only to die one day
The same for the president, the monarch, the pauper and billionaire
The reaper of lives any life does not spare.
Time ticks along fast and every day we grow old
And what matter if your life story is never told
Do be kind to others and respect to all pay
And do at least one good deed if you can every day.
poem by Francis Duggan
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Give God's Way!
What did God give us?
God gave Adam life from the dust of the earth
God gave Adam his wife Eve to be one flesh
So do we make man in our own image to give to God
No sin has made that impassable to give God
God gave us the pure blood of mammals for one sin
Yet history of sin gives God nothing!
God gave his only Son Christ's blood for all sins
So now a holy God can love a pure creation
Why dose God have us give?
Jesus gave us his eternal life & holy spirit
We are to love God with all heart and soul
And love our neighbor as our self
For where your treasure is there your heart will be also.
The TV church world's treasure is money for miracles
They teach if you give more then you have?
The Pharisees, who loved money
Heard all this and were sneering at Jesus.
God gives you more then you need?
No servant can serve two masters
You cannot serve both God and Money.
He overturned the tables of the money changers
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth
Where thieves break in and steal.
If money is not my treasure what do I give?
He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar
Abraham! I am here Do not lay a hand on the boy
God wants you to be not greedy for money eager to serve
To give of the heart trust and faith without expection
Is all God ever wanted from us!
Jesus gave us his treasured life and Holy Spirit
We need to serve all our actions money and lives
Not a debt we can repay but out love for God & his son
It's time we give back out of love.
God loves a cheerful giver
poem by John Raymond
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
The Ghost
Down the street as I was drifting with the city's human tide,
Came a ghost, and for a moment walked in silence by my side --
Now my heart was hard and bitter, and a bitter spirit he,
So I felt no great aversion to his ghostly company.
Said the Shade: `At finer feelings let your lip in scorn be curled,
`Self and Pelf', my friend, has ever been the motto for the world.'
And he said: `If you'd be happy, you must clip your fancy's wings,
Stretch your conscience at the edges to the size of earthly things;
Never fight another's battle, for a friend can never know
When he'll gladly fly for succour to the bosom of the foe.
At the power of truth and friendship let your lip in scorn be curled --
`Self and Pelf', my friend, remember, is the motto of the world.
`Where Society is mighty, always truckle to her rule;
Never send an `i' undotted to the teacher of a school;
Only fight a wrong or falsehood when the crowd is at your back,
And, till Charity repay you, shut the purse, and let her pack;
At the fools who would do other let your lip in scorn be curled,
`Self and Pelf', my friend, remember, that's the motto of the world.
`Ne'er assail the shaky ladders Fame has from her niches hung,
Lest unfriendly heels above you grind your fingers from the rung;
Or the fools who idle under, envious of your fair renown,
Heedless of the pain you suffer, do their worst to shake you down.
At the praise of men, or censure, let your lip in scorn be curled,
`Self and Pelf', my friend, remember, is the motto of the world.
`Flowing founts of inspiration leave their sources parched and dry,
Scalding tears of indignation sear the hearts that beat too high;
Chilly waters thrown upon it drown the fire that's in the bard;
And the banter of the critic hurts his heart till it grows hard.
At the fame your muse may offer let your lip in scorn be curled,
`Self and Pelf', my friend, remember, that's the motto of the world.
`Shun the fields of love, where lightly, to a low and mocking tune,
Strong and useful lives are ruined, and the broken hearts are strewn.
Not a farthing is the value of the honest love you hold;
Call it lust, and make it serve you! Set your heart on nought but gold.
At the bliss of purer passions let your lip in scorn be curled --
`Self and Pelf', my friend, shall ever be the motto of the world.'
Then he ceased and looked intently in my face, and nearer drew;
But a sudden deep repugnance to his presence thrilled me through;
Then I saw his face was cruel, by the look that o'er it stole,
Then I felt his breath was poison, by the shuddering of my soul,
Then I guessed his purpose evil, by his lip in sneering curled,
And I knew he slandered mankind, by my knowledge of the world.
But he vanished as a purer brighter presence gained my side --
`Heed him not! there's truth and friendship
in this wondrous world,' she cried,
And of those who cleave to virtue in their climbing for renown,
Only they who faint or falter from the height are shaken down.
At a cynic's baneful teaching let your lip in scorn be curled!
`Brotherhood and Love and Honour!' is the motto for the world.'
poem by Henry Lawson
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Burning Man
The rise and fall of my sloppy love
The smatterings, and splatterings
Theyll get you
Im not the one you were thinking of
Maybe you thought Id call
Instead of crashing down your hall
Hold me down, I wanna find out
You know you will never get what you need
Blue diamond strike em anywhere
First we caffeinate then incinerate
Well get you
And sparks will fly in the summer air
Did you pull out of your stall
Maybe Ill see you after all
Hold me down, I wanna find out
We say no, cause I live my life like a burning man
Like a burning man, a burning man
Like a burning man
And I wont get enough until my legs are broken
The stars they shine in an empty void
Life is not to fear, life is to enjoy
Hell get you
Oh, mr. death catches all someday
Baby I thought youd call
Or leave a light on in the hall
Hold me down but Ill find out
We say no, cause I live my life like a burning man
Like a burning man, a burning man
Like a burning man
Hold me down, I wanna find out
We say no, cause I live my life like a burning man
Like a burning man, a burning man
Like a burning man
And I wont get enough, until my legs are broken
song performed by by Third Eye Blind
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Almost Everything
Music by richard marx and bruce gaitsch
Lyrics by richard marx
Im waiting for some kind of healing to begin
And I wonder if you know the kind of pain Im in
Its hard wondering just what it is you see
There hasnt been a moment youve been off my mind
Ive searched through every meditation I can find
As if something could bring you back to me
Do I go on in silence
Or shout at the sky
Give me all the earthly treasures
That a single man can hold
Put the magic in my fingers
That turns everything to gold
Hand me the sun, say that Ive won
The world on a string
And then I will have almost everything
I imagine you until I swear I feel your touch
And I read the words you wrote me when it gets too much
The one piece of solace I can steal
I still need you in my life
Like never before
Give me all the earthly treasures
That a single man can hold
Put the magic in my fingers
That turns everything to gold
Hand me the sun, say I have won
The world on a string
And then I will have almost everything
I still need you in my life
More than ever before
Give me all the earthly treasures
That a single man can hold
Put the magic in my fingers
That turns everything to gold
Hand me the sun, say I have won
The world on a string
And then I will have almost everything
song performed by by Richard Marx
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
How Is That Exactly?
A women told me today to move on with my life.
I don't know if I ever can.
I don't know if I ever will.
Maybe not in so many words.
But still.
And time to continues to stand.
Not giving an inch.
If it was only such a cinch.
Self esteem, fades then your okay.
Suddenly your brave and need no one.
Dependence is a reflection of either needs or love.
And sometimes both.
Being alone purifies the soul.
In a way only a monk or hermit could ever understand.
Oh or social outcast.
A freak of nature.
The awe inspiring beast.
Looks don't attract but turn away.
But in a different way.
He's a criminal, sorry mam but I've never had even parking ticket.
Yet you see me trying make it quickly across a red light.
I'm surprised she didn't scream officer saying I was going try to rape her.
Just plain selfishness.
Why would I ever look for that.
When I had something so much better, lost it, and ran.
I was so scared.
Now I just don't care.
A mask of many faces.
A face full of all different colored braces.
Maybe it's my fathers fault that I try to hold my self to a higher standard.
I mean running around 13 or 14 kids surely don't help.
I understand why I feel the way I do.
But I don't know how to fix me.
Tell me how is that exactly?
poem by Ace Of Black Hearts
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Don’t Escape Serving
Selfishness is an inborn trait,
That preserves the self and its babes.
To serve the others also is a part
Of selfishness. Don’t escape it.
(18.03.2011)
poem by Rm. Shanmugam Chettiar
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
To Fade Away Song
The sun wants to fade away
And even though it is hard for me to accept it
I must not hold the sun back
Or make the sun a prisoner of mine
Because the sun needs to live his life
And I need to live mine
I need to put and end to my selfishness
Because if not it will make me sour and bitter in the inside
poem by Aldo Kraas
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
No Tears In heaven
To All My Friends Relatives Gone before me and who will go after me....
No Tears In Heaven!
A friend is someone who lends a helping hand,
With a friendship to last forever in this earthly land
They will be friends forever and may not end up together,
With precious memories that will last forever and ever.
A friend is not a maid, a servant, a distant past, certainly not!
They hold a piece of you in their hearts and its forget me not.
Brightens up your deepest darkest hour... day by day
Shares your smile, your victory, in many a glorious way,
Words to describe, i certainly find it hard and its sad
But i am grateful, friends have i, when my times are bad.
And when the curtain falls the journey bravely we will carry on
Wondering.. Will you know my name if I saw you in heaven?
poem by Shirani Ibrahim
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!