Vanity of Vanities

“What is the way to happiness?” He pondered on this each day.
In all his wisdom, all his knowledge he could not find the way.

“How can one be happy?” He just couldn’t understand.
“I’ve got more gold, more silver, than any in the land.”

“I will make myself happy! My patience is wearing thin.
I shall indulge in many pleasures, even those of sin.”

He had a thousand lovers. More than any man that’s true,
but still he was unhappy, and his hatred for life grew.

Devastated, spirit torn, in anguish and defeat,
the master cried “O Lord, dear God, my life’s just not complete!”

… Still trying to remember an old poem I wrote in 7th grade. This is about half of it.

Chairs, Sadly, Darkness

Chairs filled the auditorium. There was no light except for the spotlight on the stage. Sadly no great crowd had gathered to see her speak. The chairs were mostly empty and there was an eerie echo bouncing off the back wall.

Her voice shook as she tried to remember all it was that she was supposed to say. She hated reading her speeches because of the way her voice when into a higher pitch like that of a cartoon character. It was not her own and it was not serious.

Maybe it was a good thing that the crowd had not showed up. Less people to see the debacle this would be. Now, where were those words.

“Parents, Teachers, and students. It is my pleasure to introduce you to this year’s revolutionary mega theme. Paperless books. E-textbooks for every student.”

A smattering of applause. About 30 claps. Mostly from 2 people. She gulped as she tried to remember the benefits of her proposal.

So, that was my 5 minute writing exercise. The title is the three words I was given to work with. I didn’t watch the clock, so that may have been only 3 minutes. The idea was that you can create a story quickly if you just start writing and write fast. 

It started off okay, but not sure where it was going. I may try one of these again another day. I guess I never used the word “darkness” either. I did say “no light.” Does that count?