On Conspicuous Consumption (A Poem)
Achievement that produces wealth strokes the ego and blinds the eye.
What good is wealth to the ego engorged
if you cannot display this bombastic reward?
Hence 50’s Cadillacs were gloriously arrayed
with dramatic fins and accoutrements displayed.
“That man has moola!” as all can see,
his car a billboard of his excellency.
How weird these values, so upside down;
Though dressed like kings they’re obvious clowns.
He spritzes the air with his scented fumes
Not knowing he’s a signpost for his own future doom.
In this climate of envy, fake news and lies
A modest demeanor would have been more wise.
23 December 2018
e.
