Winner's Luck Poem by Mary Champion

The Law of the Jungle!
Nature red in tooth and claw!
Survival of the fittest!
Selfish genes that use us as
a means to their involuntary ends.

Life is all about winning.
Losers are dead!
Gone extinct!

We might think our strengths,
our merits,
our cusséd determination,
are what win us the prizes.

But, in truth,
it is only luck-
the random lottery of life
that endows some with
strong limbs;
quick thought;
a healthy immune system;
manual dexterity;
intellectual prowess;
psychological health;
in short -
good genes and good fortune -
serendipitous superiority not of our making.

So don't crow too loudly when you win,
or at least make it to the front of the pack.
Victory is no more due to the winner's virtue
than loss is to the loser's vice.