The Egotist
There once was a person who took
Themselves too seriously
Their uptight behaviour was wrought
In the name of being artsy
Their work focused all on themselves
On their torment and strife and their woes
A message of darkness and dread
Is what all of their work did propose
Hours and hours of thought
Put into the things that offended
But missing a final redemption
No mention of things that were splendid
No mission of nourishing hope
Through color or sculpture or prose
No mention of beautiful coda
Only the difficult throes
Spreading their ache to whoever
Would bother to listen to them
Maybe those few hoped to find
An inspirational gem
But all that they found were the cries
Of a tortured and tormented soul
Nothing to invigorate
Or empower, stir or console
A few may have felt just the same
And wallowed along with the scribe
Creating a miserable horde
Of people who only subscribe
To the idea that everything’s hopeless
The practice of self-pitying
Never wanting to move forward
To the past is to what they’d all cling
And then there are those who will say
“This kind of thing isn’t for me”
They balk at the darkness and dread
And from then on whenever they see
Some kind of artistic endeavor
They think back to how that last piece
Did nothing to make their enjoyment
Of life on this planet increase
Egotists just want reaction
“You can’t only have joyful views!”
But if it’s destruction you want
I’d recommend watching the news
It’s there every night on TV
Right there in your own living room
Murders and wars and disasters
The everyday six o’clock gloom
Artists do have the rare privilege
Of controlling moods they incite
Why would an artist depress
When instead they could help ignite?
The spirit of hope within someone
To give them the strength to push on
To be a supportive companion
When they feel that all hope is gone
Artists, take heed of this warning
Be mindful what message you send
Within your artwork or your writings
You may be creating a trend
Of work that does no good for others
Or you may be creating a stigma
That art is depressing and weird
In your journey to be an enigma
I hear so many folks say
They’re surprised that my writing has soul
That there’s wisdom and courage within
And that inspiration’s my goal
Surprised, because of how much
Negative work they’ve all seen
So don’t be a part of the problem
Be a part of the vaccine
Don’t be an Egotist
And focus just on your own plight
Be an Artist and use
Your talents to awaken might
~Miro