I met a little girl the other day
And she said to me:
"I want to be a dancer,
The best that I can be,
So one day I'll be so well known,
I can dance before the queen."

I met a teenage boy the other day
And he said to me:
"I want to be a rock star,
known across the sea,
To hear crowds yell out my name-
To go down in history.

I met a soon-to-be mother the other day,
And she said to me:
"I wish that I was rich,
Rich as I could be,
So I could hire throng of people
To serve and care for me."

I met a middle aged man the other day,
And he said to me:
"I want to be recognized,
For all that I've achieved;
To be reknown among all men,
For my efforts to be seen."


I met a elderly man the other day,
And he said to me:
I want to be held dear
By all who're loved by me;
I want to be remembered forever,
Treasured in a memory.

I met a dying woman the other day,
and she asked of me
If I wanted to reknown,
Or rich as I could be,
to be loved and served by throngs of people,
And honored in the memories?

I stood at a new-dug grave the other day,
And gave her my reply;
"I do not wish to be reknown,
rich, or treasured when I die;
I want to live a peacefull life,
And leave no one to cry."

A man nearby turned and said to me
"That is no way to live."
I said: "I do not wish to take,
nor do I wish to give,
And should come a time,
When I should die,
It shall be as if I did not exist