riches

The rose thinks
the garden is enough.
Blossoming in its sun,
it looks upward and smiles—

Oh, who is it who is richer than me?

The fish thinks
the pond is enough.
Flitting across its expanse,
it looks backward and trills—

Oh, who is it who is richer than me?

The eagle thinks
the sky is enough.
Soaring over its heights,
it looks downward and roars—

Oh, who is it who is richer than me?

The human thinks
the world is enough.
Chasing after its days,
it looks onward and calls—

Oh, who is it who is richer than me?

The human thinks
the world is enough.

Lowered into the grave,
the soul looks inward and cries—

Oh, who is it who is poorer than me!

“By the snorting chargers, by the strikers of sparks [with their hooves], by the raiders at dawn, raising therein a trail of dust, and cleaving therein a host! Indeed man is ungrateful to his Lord, and indeed he is [himself] a witness to that! He is indeed avid in the love of wealth. Does he not know, when what is in the graves is turned over, and what is in the breasts is divulged, indeed their Lord will be best aware of them on that day?”

—The Holy Quran, Chapter 100