Greed
Sad,
but always interesting (and sometimes fun)
watching
billionaires and giant corporations
tearing
each other apart in the news.
Incessant
squabbling, backbiting, lawsuits.
How
much money do you need?
How
many houses can you live in?
How
many cars can you drive?
Amazing
they are never satisfied,
never
seem to get enough.
As
for me
I’m
a simple man
walk
the dog, have a coffee with the wife
text
my son living in California
and
sleep at night with a clear conscious
and
accepting the fact that
you
can’t take it with you.
Inferno, Canto VII -- Giovanni Stradano (Jan Van der Straet)
Like waves above Charybdis, each crashing apart
ReplyDeleteAgainst the one it rushes to meet, here gather
People who hurry forward till they must meet
And dance their round. Here I saw more souls
Than elsewhere, spreading far to the left and right:
Each pushes a weight against his chest and howls
At his opponent each time that they clash:
“Why do you squander?” and “Why do you hoard?” Each wheels
To roll his weight back round again: they rush
Toward the circle’s opposite point, collide
Painfully once more, and curse each other afresh;
And after that refrain each one must head
Through his half-circle once again, to his next joust.
-- Dante, INFERNO, Canto VII, lines 22-36 (tr. Robert Pinsky)