What's in it for me
Lugesan Reddy 1985 (Toronto)
I like to rest on benches,
breathing sea's salty air.
A break from selfish wrenches
of those who do not care.
I saw this fisher sitting
so calmly by the bay.
He seemed to dodge the splitting
of hairs we do each day.
"I should be there, angling!
It's seclusion breeds vitality.
And escape the greedy mangling
of other's dog-eat-dog mentality."
A wave surprised him curling
with authority onto land.
Possessed with currents swirling,
it grabbed all with its hand.
This fisher cowered in vein,
as the ocean teased it's might.
And like being in stormy rain,
he'd drench from feel to sight.
He hurled into the sea!
This man confronting nature.
Adrenaline filled me,
when he brought back a lady's stature!
"I witnessed a miracle!
You just saved this woman's breath."
I spoke to him, hysterical.
This rogue who stole from death.
You slapped her face while yelling
for her mouth to make a sound.
Each word I heard you telling
the reason she was found:
"I like fish, like you like money.
We make it our life's purpose.
Like bees in search of honey,
it's coded beneath our surface.
So when the sea was crowning
your naive and careless head,
I had to stop your drowning
so I'd get my question fed:
Did you see within sea's guise,
where all the fish would be?
Because I only saved your eyes,
so I can get what's in it for me.
About this poem
I always wonder if people do good deeds, hoping to get something back in return. It is a competitive world, and I don't judge anyone for thinking this way (I can be a victim myself). While this poem is exaggerated, my aim is to highlight the scarcity mindset and its toxicity.
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Written on January 30, 2024
Submitted by lugesan_r on February 01, 2024
- 1:29 min read
- 12 Views
Quick analysis:
| Scheme | ABAB CDCD CECE CFCF GHGH EIEI JKJK CLCL EMEM CNCN OEOE |
|---|---|
| Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
| Characters | 1,323 |
| Words | 285 |
| Stanzas | 11 |
| Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
2 fans
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"What's in it for me" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/179767/what's-in-it-for-me>.
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