Ode on Success by William Shepherd
I am a most successful man
My age is forty one
My name is known by many a soul
But few know all I've doneAt life's own purpose I can claim
Two children strong and wise
A home for them all free and clear
And lives clear free of liesPossessions I no longer have
No need for guns and laws
My heart and mind and soul are spared
From usury's grasping clawsI have the measure of this world
My spirit sings its tune
From life's annoy I shelter seek
And know how change the moon
The minds of history's greatest men
I in my ignorance sought
Sometimes they reached to bear me up
And God me wisdom taughtThe world of culture keeps me whole
The good life joy doth bring
To cloistered tower and cathedral spire
My yearning heart doth clingI've plunged to depths and soared to heights
No mortal man should know
But from the tears the loves and fears
My soul has wit to showWilliam Shepherd (1988)
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