The Feast of Fools – Poem On Selfishness, Worldly Desires, Greed, and Being Self-Centered

Gather ’round for the Feast of Fools Where all fantasies are fulfilled, No demand is too extreme, and all desires are devoured. So pull up a chair And take your seat at the table. Your wish is thy command. Whatever you are starving for will be served. Oh, don’t worry About restraining your selfish desires. We’re happy to prepare whatever It is you’re seeking. “I’ll take a million dollars,” one man said. “A million…that’s all?” said another. “I’ll take a billion – I’m absolutely starving.” “I’ll take an innocent, young girl – One that’s just turned 18. I’ll put some experience in her, huh?” He said, nudging the man sitting next to him. “Forget that,” said the man next to him. “She won’t even know what she’s doing. Give me the one that’s open to anything And has no shame.” And the demands continued around the table. “Serve me up some success. I want to be the head of the organization And take orders from no one.” “Give me that red sports car I’ve always wanted. I just know I’ll finally be happy Once I get it.” “Serve me up a man Who makes me feel special everyday, Comes loaded with cash, And willing to do whatever I say.” “Build me a mansion so big That I can parade around like a king. Fill it with expensive toys And butlers to fetch my every need.” And as the men and women shouted their orders From the lines of chairs at the table, Desires became real And appeared before them on their plates. Each person sank their teeth Into their meals And sucked their cravings Down to the bone – no crumbs remained. “The Feast of Fools is complete. Thank you all for coming. Dinner will be served in the hall Tomorrow, same as always.” The people left the hall with bulging bellies, But still weren’t full or satisfied. Each silently reminded themselves To ask for a larger meal tomorrow. – Poem Written by Justin Farley

Behind the Poetry

It is easy to look at the danger of worldly desires and selfishness in the lives of people at the top. But the inspiration for this poem did not come from judging rich, selfish celebrities, but from judging my own self-centered, worldly desires. What is it in your life that you would ask for at the feast? There is nothing that you can devour that will bring you happiness or fill you up externally; it is only going to continue to leave you starving and hungry. Anytime we believe we can digest a worldly meal and think that it can fix us, we’re eating a feast for fools. Hopefully you enjoyed this poem.

My current collections of poetry, all available on Amazon, all written by me, Justin Farley. A Voice in the Wilderness is a chapbook of Christian Poetry, written about the joys, doubts, struggles, and sorrows of the Christian life. Nature’s Bounty is a collection of nature poetry celebrating my love for the outdoors. And Thorns of Love is the first book of three in a series of poems about love, this one being sad, breakup poems.

I write to reach the hearts of the searching, the suffering, the still fighting. I write to soothe my soul and hopefully to soothe yours too. I write to celebrate and attempt to put words to the beauty of life. Here are my published books on Amazon. More to come. A huge, humble thank you to anyone who supports my work.

-Justin Farley

A Voice in the Wilderness – A Chapbook of Poems About God by Justin Farley Nature’s Bounty – A Chapbook of Poems About Nature by Justin Farley Thorns of Love – Sad Love Poems About Heartbreak and Break Ups by Justin Farley My current collections of poetry, all available on Amazon, all written by me, Justin Farley. A Voice in the Wilderness is a chapbook of Christian Poetry, written about the joys, doubts, struggles, and sorrows of the Christian life. Nature’s Bounty is a collection of nature poetry celebrating my love for the outdoors. And Thorns of Love is the first book of three in a series of poems about love, this one being sad, breakup poems. I write to reach the hearts of the searching, the suffering, the still fighting. I write to soothe my soul and hopefully to soothe yours too. I write to celebrate and attempt to put words to the beauty of life. Here are my published books on Amazon. More to come. A huge, humble thank you to anyone who supports my work. -Justin Farley

---

photo credit: Jared Zimmerman via photopin cc