Too Dedicated Poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar

They are more affected,
By my success...
With a displaying of their false pretentions,
Than I have earned the right to express...
But don't.
Since I did not achieve any perceived success,
Based upon any acts of pretention.
And I have been too dedicated,
To find the time to flaunt what I've done.
I've been doing and not talking about it.

And...
I am not that distant.
I hear them taking their 'trips'.
Performing without sweat involved.
Or the hours of lost sleep.
And eating when the thought occurs.
It is easy to assume one knows about success,
And what it takes to make it happen.