Asserted Plato: in our youth
We live in caves and see the truth
Reflected poorly on the stone
And little value what we own.
Diogenes went further: he,
When by a pond he chanced to see
A shepherd drink from cupped hands, knew
The things he owned could shrink to two.
Then Jesus later taught to give
The lot away that we might live
(And this by parable and prayers)
For all eternity upstairs.
And just in time for us came Freud
To face the existential void,
Who salvaged several childhood wrecks
And gave a deal of thought to sex.
(Of which the others didn’t speak
Except, a bit, the older greek)
And here tonight statistics prove
Contentment correlates with love
And they were right, and those who long
For wealth beyond their needs are wrong,
That wealth as poverty destroys
The happiness that one enjoys
Who creativity inspires,
Or lives for friendship in the shires.