There is a story of a man
Who was offered a thousand rubles
And all the land that he could walk around
Between sunrise and sunset.
Running hard and fast to acquire this land
That was seemingly generously offered
And that which he could rightfully claim
On the merit of his sheer grit and tenacity.

He did return to his starting point
Just before the sun set
(As was the condition…)
But exhausted and sapped of all life, he collapsed
Fallen on a piece of land–
Six feet from his head to his heels– a corpse.
That in the end, was the only land
He could claim as his own.

How much ground have you covered
Since the break of dawn?
What desires drive your work?
What do you hope to do
With all the excess you ‘make’?
What sins will it breed?
How much life will it consume?
And how will you fill
The hollow it carves out within you?

What cheap forms of entertainment
Will you inflate by the premiums you pay
Just to escape the nothingness within you?
And when you wake up
What will be that reality
That will stand before you–
A final account of all that you lost
For all that you imagined you would gain.