What We Own And Wear Poem by gershon hepner

We are not what we own or wear,
but ultimately stand alone,
defined by love we care to share
with others whom we do not own,
and sometimes wear down trying to
possess them, if we are possessed
by them. Whether old or new,
love is a property whose quest
does not end when you think you’d found
the sort that suits you best, you must
keeping searching for it, and surround
it with your own, and never trust
good fortune which brought it to you,
or judge and sentence it to life.
it won’t be yours till you pursue
this unowned love just like a wife
who always is prepared to cheat
the moment that you take for granted
the love she feel and, obsolete,
you find that you have been supplanted.

Inspired by Janet Maslin’s review of “Thirteen Women and the Experiment that Transformed Their Lives, ” by Cheryl Jarvis (“Diamonds: A Girl’s Best Path to Selflessness? ” NYT, September 5,2008) , which tells the story of thirteen women in Ventura, CA who decide to pool their resources to buy a diamond necklace which they will all be able to wear:
But real honesty and insight are antithetical to this book’s experiment. It wants to simultaneously exploit and renounce the same craving. So the diamonds are cannily manipulated throughout “The Necklace” to both titillate and congratulate readers and to reinforce what they already know. On an outing one day Ms. McLain goes to a bookstore while her friend and necklace mate Patti Channer eyes a chiffon poncho. Which one of them will learn the error of her ways? We aren’t what we own or wear. But we are what we read. And “The Necklace” will be read widely. Though Ms. Jarvis never says so, the best way to honor the book’s principles is to share your copy with a friend.


9/5/08