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This piece is about a lot of things. It’s about success and failure, or at least the appearance of success. It’s also a failure of my own, because it was yet another piece that I originally set out to write, and have it say something completely different, but somewhere along the way, it veered right back into the very same ditches I so often seem to crash right into.
A very big spark for (the in-the-ditch version of), this piece came from a song I recently heard from Toronto-based Indy-rock group Metric. The song’s title is “Dark Saturday”, and it contains a couple of lines that struck me like a mallet between the eyes:
She said: "I don't need to make a living-"
"fake donors got nothing on me."
and:
I said: "Everything, I've built from nothing."
She said: "I'm so rich, everything's free."
Another statement that also served to push/nudge this piece into the ditch was an adage that I can’t, for the life of me remember the source of, but which went something like this: “Being ‘good’ at what you do is not really all that important, especially when plenty of people are ‘good’ at what they do. ‘Good’ at what you do is one thing, but only one can be the ‘best’ at something. Unless you’re the best, the most important thing is knowing how to find your spot. No matter how ‘good’ you are, you’re still useless unless you can find your spot.”
I have also, once again, used the old German proverb: The Death-Shirt has no pockets for a bit of inspiration, as really, it’s never any less true. I'll also admit that there are vague, oblique references to a few people over the years who've done some serious wrongs to myself, and those I deeply care about. You really do hope that karma is going to kick in some day...
A very big spark for (the in-the-ditch version of), this piece came from a song I recently heard from Toronto-based Indy-rock group Metric. The song’s title is “Dark Saturday”, and it contains a couple of lines that struck me like a mallet between the eyes:
She said: "I don't need to make a living-"
"fake donors got nothing on me."
and:
I said: "Everything, I've built from nothing."
She said: "I'm so rich, everything's free."
Another statement that also served to push/nudge this piece into the ditch was an adage that I can’t, for the life of me remember the source of, but which went something like this: “Being ‘good’ at what you do is not really all that important, especially when plenty of people are ‘good’ at what they do. ‘Good’ at what you do is one thing, but only one can be the ‘best’ at something. Unless you’re the best, the most important thing is knowing how to find your spot. No matter how ‘good’ you are, you’re still useless unless you can find your spot.”
I have also, once again, used the old German proverb: The Death-Shirt has no pockets for a bit of inspiration, as really, it’s never any less true. I'll also admit that there are vague, oblique references to a few people over the years who've done some serious wrongs to myself, and those I deeply care about. You really do hope that karma is going to kick in some day...
Category Poetry / All
Species Unspecified / Any
Size 50 x 50px
File Size 2.2 kB
This poem spoke to me in a language I thoroughly understand. I can be a very competitive person at things I'm good at, but it always frustrated me that I'll never be considered among the best. This competitive impulse is so strong that I almost give up on the monumental effort it takes to achieve greatness, because I sometimes can't get over the many barriers in my way. I was not born to a wealthy family, nor did I receive the best education.
This competitive attitude even spills over into how I write poetry; I want to leave my mark on the poetry world by discovering innovative techniques for writing verses, but I constantly worry that I lack the sort of genius to accomplish this.
This competitive attitude even spills over into how I write poetry; I want to leave my mark on the poetry world by discovering innovative techniques for writing verses, but I constantly worry that I lack the sort of genius to accomplish this.
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