My Little Green Conscience

Rising Stars Shining Brighter Contest
1 item limit/static/new item only/poetry/short story/essay/ no higher than 18+/Mar.15th
Use rising star signature at the end of the entry

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My Little Green Conscience

By Indelibleink

Out early this morning, for my every-other-day jog,
My visibility not good, due to the seasonal fog.
Felt good and ran fast, like I was running a race,
But truth was I couldn’t see the hands in front of my face.

So I should not have been surprised, when I soon tripped and fell,
Hit my head on a hydrant; a bruise that was so quick to swell.
Undaunted by injury, I continued my quest,
For my eight-and-a-half miles, not ‘til then would I rest!

And, whilst I journeyed, quite impressed with my stride,
I heard the sound of another runner, coming up by my side.
This early in the morning, whoever might it be?
Quite shocked as a little man pulled up right next to me.

Adorned in green, from whence he came - tough to tell,
But he was quite nice, asking, “Care if I run with you for a spell?”
I nodded a “yes,” and he went on to say his name was Shawn,
And informed me that he was this area’s head leprechaun!

He must have sensed that I doubted, his claim of great powers,
For he blinked, and poof, he produced a handful of flowers.
Then he stated, “Me friend, I’m more powerful than you think,
How else would I know that you go by 'Indelibleink'?”

Somewhat surprised, I said, “So what's your business with me?
I’m not even Irish – my roots are all in Germany.”
He said, “I’m here to help all – your heritage matters not,”
Then winked and said, “But Germans seem to need my help a lot!

I waved off the man, saying, “Right now all's good for me,”
To which he replied, “That’s the problem – don’t you see?
You look at the world in terms of it revolving around you.
Ever consider looking at it from someone else’s point of view?”

“For instance,” he continued, “you work hard and often late,
So - when’s the last time you came home and told your wife she looked great?”
“And you’re always at church; never forget your cash gift,
But when did you last donate time, to give people a lift?”

“Don’t misunderstand,” said Shawn, “I’m not implying that you’re bad,
But we all seem to forget about each other, and that makes me sad.
We all get caught up in money, and tangible things,
And forget the riches that the giving of oneself really brings.”

The little guy made sense, and as the end of my run neared,
I thought it more than coincidence that the fog had now cleared.
Thanks to my new buddy Shawn, I’d make more effort to care,
I turned to thank him, but – poof, he was gone – right into thin air!

Arriving home, about Shawn, I had considered telling my wife,
And running with a leprechaun – wait - she’d have me committed for life!
Instead I greeted her with a simple comment about how wonderful she looked,
Called the homeless shelter, and volunteer time I then booked.

My wife then told me to go and check out the answering machine,
Something about a “strange message from a man named Mr. Green.”
“You’re off to a good start” - or something like that - he said,
“Just don’t make me come back and give you another bump on your head!”

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Words: 552    Lines: 48