The 'Right' Life Poem by Joan Hart

People work so hard
To get the “right” life
They go to college
Through all the strife
They graduate
And then get married,
And before long
A baby’s carried

They slave away at work
Day after day,
All that matters
Is the pay
The couples grow bitter,
They can’t fight the force
And before long
They file for divorce

Then you’re on your deathbed
From all the years of smoking,
You’re slowly dying
And silently choking
On all of the things
You wish you could say,
All the regrets
You can’t change today

And once you’re gone
They’ll feast upon your riches,
You’re nothing but ash
Blowing in the ditches
A star that once
Shined in the sky
The fire burned out -
The ember died.

Surely there has got to be
A different life for us to see
For this life
Is not for me.