Poem: Envy innit?
The aim of those who covet is for one day they long to be coveted too!
What a waste of energy
A stunted evolution
Oxen, Asses, and all that
You’ve seen one ass, you’ve seen them all
I yawn
Review:Envy innit?
An amusing and wise little poem. The starting point of this short poem is with a regional term, innit? I’ve not ventured much beyond the M25 but I recognise the term ‘innit’ as something familiar from my North London and East London days. ‘Innit’ is indeed a London ‘fing.
The title get’s my attention and I’m reading it with a London dialect in mind.
This serves me as I’m already in that mode when I get to “Oxen, Asses and all that”
A good conversational starter of “let’s talk about this and this is what I think”
A great opening statement with those who desire the things of others and that their desire is for the things that they have, and aim to have, to be hankered over too.
How very shallow and hollow. Is this what most people do? “Look at me”, accompanied with a “what I’ve got status”
Or is the acquiring of ‘things’ with the desire for the items and apparent status achieved to be coveted or is it a reaction to a trauma? They are in a position to get things where they couldn’t before therefore they…
Buy stuff, buy stuff, buy stuff, buy buy buy! Accumulate, accumulate squirrel-like and then? Unease or social discomfort eradicated? Or would they just keep going?
Justified actions? From their own perspective, absolutely yes.
It looks as though they will keep going if the aim is to reach an even higher status.
But who would know of this unless it’s a parent, or a grandparent or someone close who were at the beginning of a person’s life and know of their story? It would only be from their perspective wouldn’t it? The perspective of someone naturally exhibiting a proud bias. Perhaps not broad enough? and perhaps with a tinge of a ‘rose tinted spectacle’ view.
The overt display and the nodding of heads from others is a sign of acknowledgement, acceptance and being ‘liked’ by a certain social group and fitting in. Has this always been the case? Now it is facilitated by social media platforms demonstrating edited and curated behaviours to be shared.
Seeking to be coveted is definitely a waste of energy rendering the seeker emotionally vacant. What a time consuming and costly faff!
Human beings are indeed capable of doing and achieving so many good things with not everything needing to be trumpeted. Coveting and buying stuff and buying into commercially driven ideas can stunt evolution and distract an individual from their own personal aims or aim in life.
The poet is referencing well-known biblical ancient text when it comes to the oxen and asses.
What is the modern-day equivalent?
The modern ‘jumbo’ cars of today? Other modes of personal transportation? (another story for another time) The oxen and asses from long ago were needed right? Are the jumbo oversized cars of today needed? How did humanity cope before, with the size of vehicles in relation to the size of people? Are we as humans, not sophisticated enough to design vehicles that are safe, stylish and not needing to be ginormous?
Is someone or something ‘spinning a yarn’ here with the claimed benefits of these beasts on wheels?
I get the feeling that the poet regards the behaviours of those who covet and what drives them as something not being a new phenomenon as they recognise the pattern. When the behaviour is seen over and over again and not likely to change it bores the poet into writing this poem. I like the punchy conclusion where the poet refers to those who engage in this sort of behaviour as asses!
A satisfying little read.
