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The Feelings from atop the Ladder

As we are always in hurry to reach the higher rung of the hierarchy tree

By Seema PatelPublished 17 days ago 1 min read
@Seema

There is an old scam.

It says there is a ladder.

It has many rungs,

and you must climb them all.

If you don’t, you will miss out,

as you watch your peers

scurry past you.

You must climb faster,

by whatever means you can.

The view from the top, they say,

is amazing,

one must savor its splendor

to feel good about oneself.

People will clap for you

when you reach the zenith.

Day and night, perpetually,

like Sisyphus, you keep toiling.

Alas, the proverbial top is elusive,

it never truly comes

in your brief lifetime.

And if it does,

by a stroke of destiny,

it is aloof and scary up there.

People who belittled you

now feel small and jealous.

You wonder:

Why did I give in to the temptation

and not enjoy the journey

in a leisurely manner?

You ponder, in remorse,

as you count your remaining days.

inspirationalsocial commentaryFree Verse

About the Creator

Seema Patel

Hi, I am Seema. I have been writing on the internet for 15 years. I have contributed to PubMed, Blogger, Medium, LinkedIn, Substack, and Amazon KDP.

I write about nature, health, parenting, creativity, gardening, and psychology.

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Comments (3)

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  • Mark Graham14 days ago

    What a great poem and one that should make us all think on what we are doing and what we should be doing.

  • Kaitlin Shanks16 days ago

    The last two lines hit me like a truck. Insightful poem.

  • Marie381Uk 17 days ago

    It is a story to make one think I felt the ladder was to heaven and at the top you view the good life path you chose as you climbed 🌺🦋🌺

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