Envy (Self-Esteem & Shame)

It simmers in angst ‘gainst any who steal
Attention, verve, ovation, praise,
It hungers to feel crescendoing zeal
And when deprived its hackles raise.

Unable to rest with unsettled scores,
Hapless, clapless, deeply annoyed,
Allies appear in gossip, half-truths
Searching the world for foes to destroy.

Reputations, torpedoed, fall
Amidst a din of warring words,
Slithering Envy, sated, slips
Unnoticed down a silent hall.

Its handiwork is plain to see,
How many Picassos, afraid to paint,
Bullied, shiver in shadows, reeds,
Bruised and battered, brushes castrate.