Vanity

I once knew
An angel, a serene
Image of delight, who 
Trusted himself as 
Imperishable, and had his future
Heavenly bright.

Then, before him, some
Wicked fate was laid. 
The world invented 
A mysterious thing—a dangerous creation to
Play.

It was curiously
Silver and bounded
By magical gold. 
His joy
Revealed through a 
Reflective quiver, as
His failure began
To unfold.

He saw
The beauty in his glory. 
In response he yearned
For more. 
He made
Everyone recite his story, and asked
For more he did
Implore. 
He claimed wisdom
Through his posture. 
Naturally, he couldn't
Stop right there. 
Many statues were made after his
Gesture
With his strength exhibited
Proudly
Bare.

The oblivious acts
Went on, and there weren't many days
'Til his deeds turned
From right to
Wrong, and he left his religion
To decay.

I
Once knew an angel, 
A truth, and 
A fairytale. 
Nevertheless, all of 
These deceased like a blown out candle. 
I eventually had to
See that my dreams 
Were doomed to 
Fail.

Dale Chou
2000-12-01