by J. Randal Matheny

My precious goal, so dear and so desired,
soon turned to a sandy mirage, once acquired.

----

If I remember the story right, my mother said that when I was a small tyke I bawled for a little monkey with a banana in his hand. I cried so much, they bought it for me. When they presented it to me, I took one look at it and tossed it in the back seat of the car.

Isn't that the way we often do? We work hard for something, an object, a goal, a promotion, and when we get it, it's not quite what we thought it was.

I almost titled this couplet, "In Exchange for My Soul." For we strive after so many things only to discover they don't satisfy. In the process, we've lost our soul.

Is sand running between your fingers?

Randal