Greed: A Sonnet

The sonnet is the one of the oldest and most challenging poetic styles in the English language.  It uses pairs of rhyming lines (couplets) and groups of four lines that may or may not all rhyme (quatrains).  This is an irregular sonnet, as it only has 12 lines.  Normally, sonnets have 14 lines.  One of the key components of a sonnet is that it changes tone, and can even change its focus, somewhere around line 8 or 10.

Now, about the message of the poem.  While the body of the poem never actually tells you what the subject is, it does allude to it.  It references Shakespeare, one of the greatest sonnet writers, by mentioning "the green eyed monster."  Anyone who knows much about Shakespeare instantly recognizes this as Jealousy.  What is the mother of Jealousy?  Greed.

Greed is the source of most of our problems as a society.  Why do we hurt people?  Because we think it will benefit us somehow.  Why to we lie, cheat, and steal?  Because we want something.  The Bible says that the love of money is the root of all evil.  Note that it does not say that money is, but the love of money- greed.

The problem is, we really have plenty to be grateful for.  If you are reading this, you probably have a home, and you probably own a computer and/or smartphone.  If you can afford items like that, it means that you have the means to support yourself, or that you have someone with enough money to take care of you.  Even if you're reading this on someone else's phone or computer, in a library, school or friend's house, you likely have friends that care about you enough to help you out.  And even if you have no money, no home, no possessions and no friends, you are still alive.  You might be in need of some things, but if you need something, then there is no ignoring the fact that you cannot keep living without it.  Just remember not to get greedy once you have what you need, or it will destroy you.

And with that, I give you Greed, A Moral Poem.  Drop me a comment and let me know what you think about the poem, or about my thoughts on greed.
May you be spellbound,
Mortimer

Greed

Diabolical, you strip it away,
Trying to prevent me from having
A new day, and in a way
You spend all your time worshiping
Yourself, not caring about the lives you destroy
You’re worse than your child, the green eyed monster
Sucking us all in with your dangerous ploy
Getting us all to turn on each other

Were it not for you,
Nothing would be made new-
Through your evil, you may add happiness to life,
Though you destroy many through anger and strife.