Richard Cory by Edwin Arlington Robinson

Whenever Richard Cory went down town,We people on the pavement looked at him:He was a gentleman from sole to crown,Clean favored, and imperially slim.And he was always quietly arrayed,And he was always human when he talked; But still he fluttered pulses when he said,'Good-morning,' and he glittered when he walked.And he was rich - yes, richer than a king -And admirably schooled in every grace:In fine, we thought that he was everythingTo make us wish that we were in his place.So on we worked, and waited for the light,And went without the meat, and cursed the bread; And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,Went home and put a bullet through his head.

One moral lesson that can be gleaned from Edward Arlington Robinson's poem "Richard Cory" is that we often envy people without knowing that they are not really enviable. In "Richard Cory," the townspeople perceive Cory as a king, "imperially slim" and a "gentleman from sole to crown."  Yet, he is isolated from people by the very wealth that they who "cursed the bread" in the depression of 1893 envy.  Because he is so rich, the people do not engage him in conversation as he may wish when he says "hello"; all that they notice is that "he glittered."  Because they are so poor, the "people on the pavement" can not imagine that anything can be wrong with Cory.  But, of course, he is desperately lonely, and it is his enviable money that creates this condition.  This is the "secret and mystery to every other."

Also, you can't judge a book by it's cover.  Many people thought that he was okay.  Afterall, he had money.  Although many of us don't want to admit it, we believe that money can buy love and happines.  In this case, Richard seemed to have it all.  For this reason, no one dared to ask him how his life was truly going.  I wonder if anyone even really tried to get to know him? One can only put on a facade for so long before people realize their true mental status.  This poem is sad but at the same time refreshing because it delivers a message. Care enough to go deeper.  Care enough to ask someone how they are really doing.  When that person answers you, care enough to really listen to them.