Incessant striving after wealth often leads to an early death.

They laugh at me, "Hey farm boy!
Skinny head, your hat's not tall enough,
and your belt goes around you twice!"

It's not that I don't know what's "in" . . .
If you don't have the cash, forget it.

But someday I'll get rich for sure,
and then I'll wear a big, tall
Buddhist gravestone on my head.

Han Shan (Cold Mountain)
legendary hermit monk
China, c. 7th-9th century

The last line of this poem is a mockery of the incessant striving after wealth that leads many people to an early death.

Photo: Senecio flowers and a tombstone-like block of quartzite; Snowy Range, WY; August 19, 2012