The Ember's Pride Made An Ash Out of Him

There he sat among the ashes, thinking he was, oh, so good, Just a tiny glowing ember that was once a piece of wood, And he thought that he was better than the embers there that day, But, alas, he didn't know that soon his pride would turn him gray. There were many other embers that were crowding out his space, They were vying for attention and were trying to keep the pace, He believed they were a nuisance and he felt they were a pain, And he knew that they were jealous, and it rubbed against his grain. "I'm an ember in the ashes and I'm burning hot inside, I've a reason to be boastful and to feel such awesome pride, For the others here beside me are just living off my heat, I'm the one who is important; in myself I am complete." So he sparkled and he crackled and he told them all to move, For he thought he didn't need them and he had a thing to prove, So they rolled into the centre and they left him on the side, And his glowing heart got bigger and it filled him up with pride. Very soon he seemed to notice such a change inside of him, For his glowing heart grew weaker and his light was getting dim, But the others who had left him were still glowing bright and strong, What had happened to this ember; could it be that he was wrong? "I'm an ember in the ashes, but I'm feeling very weak, I once thought I had a future, but it's looking rather bleak, And the ones who I rejected are still glowing hot and bright, Now I think I was mistaken and that they were truly right." Now the tiny little ember, all alone and getting cold, Sits among the lowly ashes and is feeling not so bold, And the pride that once he harboured, that would make him spark and flash, Has betrayed him in this moment and has turned him into ash. --submitted to Be Didactic poetry contest - May 07, 2017