Vanity Is Hidden In The Time Poem by Ojeikpo Elijah

In the depths of time, vanity is concealed,
What is this life that we so proudly wield?
What have we truly gained, in our mortal span,
To warrant such boasting, to claim we can?

Conquests sought with might, like storms that brew,
Voices that thunder, hands that mountains subdue,
Against the winds we fight, in envy's grasp,
Like witches bewitched, we seek to unclasp

The heavens above, yet what is life's true worth?
A fleeting existence, from birth to death's rebirth,
The rich and the poor, all share the same fate,
Soaked in mortality's relentless state.

He who has not witnessed the sun's radiant rise,
Should offer gratitude, beneath celestial skies,
For in our toil and labor, we find no true gain,
Food that sustains, yet leaves us with hunger's pain.

Water that quenches, but cannot fully sate,
Garments that adorn, yet fail to alleviate
Our inherent nakedness, a constant reminder,
Of our human frailty, in life's grand design.