The Road to Lonely

Self explanatory.. Please use emphasis on capitalized areas for full effect.

The Road to Lonely

A man in BLACK pulled me aside,

before I came to EARTH.

He said, "I will prePARE you

for the life AFter your birth.

ToMORrow you will find yourself 

beginning a GREAT RACE,

and if you want to finish FIRST

you CANnot slow your PACE.

The road to your success is .....LONG

and overgrown with THORNS....

the WINNER get's a KINGdom, 

so IGNORE the cries and mourns."

The next day, I ENtered the race

adVISED by my dark friend....

packed "goods" and hurried off to be

the FIRST to reach the END.

I noticed to the left and right

were those who'd gone beFORE....

at FIRST, I saw them SELdom,

as I WENT, I saw them MORE.

Some had FEARful FAces

as the cried out for my hand

to help them return to the road

and FREE them from the SAND....

(but I'D recieved a WARNing 

of the ones stuck in the QUICK,

and I KNEW that I would JOIN them

if I did not SCORN their TRICK)

FURther down the road I happened

on a BOY who couldn't SEE.

HE asked directions to the ROAD....

....I passed him QUIetly...

and, I gave not what he WANTed

but, I gave him "lots of SPACE".

(the road led to MY kingdom 

and.... HE might have won the RACE!)

Then I saw an older COUple

who were FREEZING in the SNOW

asking ONly for a BLANket

from my STOCK of FIVE or so....

yet, I told them I was SOrry

and that I had NONE to SPARE.

(for the man in black had WARNED me

I would FIND those "liars" there)

Then I saw a little BAby

needing MILK and FOOD to eat

crying WILDly for her MOther

who lay STARving by the STREET.

When SHE asked me "for a TIDbit"

so her CHILD, so FAIR, could LIVE,

I could tell I still had PLENty

but, I STILL had none to GIVE....

As I PASSED, I called out GENTly

"Over THIS way, baby DEAR....

for it's HERE you'll find your MOther,

I must GO, the end is NEAR".

All these people seemed SO HONEST

and their stories were SO REAL,

but, the man in black had WARNED me

that I must be "HARD AS STEEL" so

I continued unreLENTing

as the MULTITUDES cried out........

....'til I reached my destiNAtion.....

....where my HEART was FILLED WITH DOUBT,......

for, I noticed that beyond the line............

.......NOT ONE..... SOUL............. could I see...

....it was only dark and LONELY

at the finish line for me.......

my heart which was so SELFish

was then overcome with GUILT

for the EMPtiness beFORE me.......

was the KINGdom.......I ...had ....BUILT!!!

I had made mySELF a loser,

and the "prize" was NAUGHT to gain...

(and rightly SO...why should I win

while others are in pain?)

So, 

I'm going back to HELP all those

that ASKED my time to loan, 

for GARDens.....even for a KING,

grow NOT 'til SEEDS are sown.

And even should I tarry 

'til aNOTHER wins the race....

when I reTURN, I'll wear a SMILE

upon this saddened face.

And though my hands are BLEEDing

from the wounds of ALL MY LAbors, 

I'll NOT reTURN........

'til I can FILL........

this land with FRIENDS, and NEIGHBORS!

Reviews

[costa siwale]

life's about the choices that makes us fill we have done what we wanted. i like you poem, well constructed piece

[Darkevin]

My favorite.... Thanks so much!

[Tom McRoberts]

I REALLY like this poem. At first it seemed really Nietzschean, but you perfectly illustrate the issue faced by shunning empathy and 'winning', the sour irony of it. In the end life is for fulfilling, not winning. Great stuff!