Better Prospects

Of all the times and ways and wits
so churlishly mocking at a noble life,
perhaps there is none so disdainful
as the vanity that pride loudly displays;
a loss of the joyous dance of life in exchange
for the heaviness of proud predictability,
a fear of the unknown so gripping its nature
until control becomes its only currency
in a world abundantly resplendent with life —
life which naturally grows and expands,
swelling and bursting with untamable vigor
to spread and sprout in a shared symphony,
refreshing the world with youthful exuberance.

The heaviness which hangs on many necks,
unnaturally changing the shape of the spine,
is meant to be lifted and left behind
for the levity waiting just mere steps ahead,
a fresh glow ready to flush the face
with the reddish tint of a luster within;
the ragged frame to don a new form
adorned with delight and a lighthearted air,
those rhythms of joy as it dances in freedom
to a humble song, laughter and dreams
returning to silent sanctums of the soul
with turbulent gladness — a glowing smile
breaking across the once-hardened face,
its downcast gaze now glancing upward
at better prospects than the beaten path.