The World Goes On/ New Names Come Poem by Shalom Freedman

THE WORLD GOES ON


The world goes on
New names come
I go on nameless
After a lifetime
Of striving for a name.

Those far younger than me
Achieve in a few years
What I have not in forty or fifty.

Envy is an ugly emotion
Failure is a bitter feeling
Inadequacy is not great
Despair is not wonderful
Hopelessness is not magic
Sadness is not joy.

An old man sad and bitter
With failed ambition
Envying others he does not know
A sad and painful story
Even when written down.