the winning lost

Ha! Finally! I made it!

The cheers of success,

celebrations of accomplishment,

rewards for endless nights.

Yes, I made it.

Future locked in, drowned in comfort.

The estranged worry of failure,

the begotten fear of being lowly.

I made it. I made it?

Yet the echo of my voice,

a congratulatory disguise

masking emptiness in perfection.

“Did I make it? “-

a whisper from my shadow,

The haunting question of a weakened soul,

a nobody buried deep within.

Golden trophies,

the lavishness of luxury-

But at what cost?

Lost chances, stolen time.

I won, an achievement indeed.

A goal obtained.

But the sense of purpose-

Oh~ so long and forgotten.

For whom are these gains?

From where comes the applause?

A lone victor,

with a lonely victory.

Alone at the top,

a head above the clouds,

covered in the mist of success,

with nowhere left to go.