That Quest For Excellence Against Your Previous Self.... Poem by RIC BASTASA

first they welcome you
they like you to be here
they assure you
the rules are fair


the hunger games begin
and you run for your shelter
this hiding game
in order to win

like that film
each one kills one another
until only one wins

you do not do that kind of thing
you run, and the faster you run away
the better for you
to feel that safety

and then finally when you find that
torch of victory
when you carry it with your hands
to light
their darkness

they will say, it is foul, it is not meant to be that way
the color of your skin is brown, it is earthly
and filthy and
simply unacceptable to the royalty of the past
the glorious renaissance of the white and the blue

you give in, you disrobe yourself
and you are naked

the world sees the truth in nudity
how beautiful it can be
and you run as fast as you can
because that is the only way to be human

after all, you add, winning is not what is sought for
it is the dignity of the journey
the excellence against your self.