while waiting to see the doctor
always competitive
the byproduct of older
siblings who went full bore
on & off the field
always driven I strove
to be the smartest
the fastest
the most nimble
and quite possibly
the best embellisher
not only did I excel
in most endeavors
but I had to fabricate
[to anyone who would listen]
how much better I was
than in reality
at some point the lies
catch up with you
and after a lifetime
of having to live with them
you look back at all your losses
and say to yourself
look here
you failed more times
than you’d care to admit
and then wonder exactly when
you became so lonely
april two thousand twenty-five
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved






