those winners you see

Kai Lossgott

I am the boy
with the brains and the plans
who listened at school
who’d never be cool
I am the runt
who out-ran the crowd
for sheer terror
I wouldn’t make it

I am the boy who never barked loud
I am the stray who worked his way up
I am the boy who thought he’d won
but I’ve lost: I'm the boy
who’s never been young

if you work like a dog
it makes you a man
its a stupid plan,
but it’s where I began
thinking work makes you strong
maybe then I’ll belong
once they call you a winner
you can’t stop winning
my head was spinning
like russian roulette
don't sleep, don’t eat
you might forget
like a stray dog begging
for scraps on the corner
to take your work home

(do invite your clients to call you
on your home phone)
the right tie will show
how much you know
the right smile will say
you bite hello,
a mongrel running
tasting of cunning,
metal and bile

And do it in style! Chase for the ace
but don’t run the race
despite all your fears
though your legs are like lead
with a scheduling file
with a gun to your head

I want to be more
than my dad
someday.
I want to be more
than a job someday.

But stray from the ears
of the remaining
who smile like film stars
and go on playing,
they cannot hear
that they’re not gaining
but paying with the years

LitNet: 4 March 2004

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