I built a life of silk and gold,
A castle high, a wealth untold.
My hands adorned with jewels bright,
My days were bathed in soft delight.
I sailed the seas on ships of pride,
Where sun and stars and time abide.
I feasted on the finest spread,
Exotic fruits and wine so red.
The voices rose in songs of praise,
They called me great, they spoke my name.
Admired, adored, in grand embrace,
Yet in my heart; an empty space.
For laughter rang but felt untrue,
Like echoes lost in hollow rooms.
And though my hands held all things fine,
A deeper hunger plagued my mind.
Then silence fell; a voice so near,
Soft yet strong, it reached my ear.
“Blessed are the poor,” it sighed,
“For they shall know the Lord inside.”
I turned and saw the world unseen,
Beyond my walls of selfish dreams.
The earth, once full, was stripped and bare,
Its rivers choked, its forests scarce.
I saw the child with hollowed eyes,
The mother’s tears, the beggar’s cries.
The labourer bent, his hands like stone,
His toil to build what’s not his own.
And then I knew; my hands had fed,
Not mouths of need, but greed instead.
My excess stole, my waste destroyed,
My blindness left the world devoid.
The beauty I had sought was lost,
For beauty’s found in love not cost.
Not in gold, nor wealth amassed,
But in the hearts of those who lack.
For caring is sharing; giving, not hoarding,
And caring is daring; to fight without folding.
Caring is bearing; the burdens of pain,
And caring is airing; to weep in God’s name.
The ugliest life is the one lived in vain,
A life without thought for the broken in pain.
But the greatest of joys, the richest of days,
Is found in the heart that loves and obeys.
So take not the path of selfish delight,
For all that is gold will vanish from sight.
But blessed are those who suffer and give,
For they shall inherit the kingdom and live.
Founded a prayer group named ‘Holy Family Prayer Group’ at The Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Hayes, Middlesex, UK.
I wrote this poem for one of the prayer gatherings. It’s based on Luke 6:17, 20-26.