mammon

chasing greed and growth and grandeur
as a dog chases after cars
to pursue is de rigueur
to sit is a faux pax

that you may create success here
making money money money
but contentment won't appear
for you've been played a fool honey

after making wealth absolute
you chase wealth comparative
looking at your neighbors in pursuit
and making more as your imperative

money is power to affect
once you've got it, concern is to protect
your riches, luxury, and your lifestyle
anxious to control and to guard your pile

those who've attained money and success
set themselves apart from us plebs
seeing struggle as our just redress
for failure to produce proceeds

fears are transformed from food and shelter
into loss of status held
once you've money enough accrued
fear becomes of being excelled

and so the rich leave libraries
endowments and bequests
and each of these their name carries
to whitewash their conquests

that there can never be enough
for those with rapacious hunger
the call of wealth you must rebuff
or die chasing a number