A Letter to the World

Dear world,

I am kind, nice, gentle, caring,

Compassionate, loving.

I am academic, bright, smart, sporty,

Mostly I win, occasionally losing.

I try to be the best at everything I do,

I'm happy, optimistic, well-adjusted.

My dreams are as far as the stars, but

Isn't it true that the first step's the hardest?

Oh, I sometimes sink under the life's pressures,

But I have tenacity. Valiance. Persistence to fight for myself.

That's what you say about me.

Dear world,

Why must you set the standards though? And

Why must you set them so high?

Now I must pretend to be kind, loving, caring, and

anyone who is anything else, meets our condemning decry.

I'm just one in a million, can't ever be the best. I know. But

Why do you still let me hope that I will?

Why do I have to conceal my sadness, have "good sportsmanship,"

Shake hands with winners, congrats!, the usual drill?

I harbor hopes which are dashed one by one, can I never be

Good enough, can I never wear the crown?

That happiness you once gave me, it's all gone now.

A blue fog of pressure weighs me down.

I can't be sated with what I already have -

"Mildly successful" is what you call me.

So now I watch as you catch up and overtake

Me, who used to be leading ably.

Can't do anything about it though - You resigned me to my fate

of mediocrity.