competition

striving towards the whole

I see the whole that each kid craves to be,

the whole that should be who we are as a species,

and I feel the fall that pulls at us,

pulls us to smash ourselves into pieces,

pieces that forget who they ought to be,

and congratulate themselves on being a part

that thinks it’s a whole,

I love a musical when countless parts make a whole,

a sports team where individuals shine

and the whole shines even brighter,

I despair of our politics,

so zero-sum, 

where one side’s plus 

requires the other’s minus,

competition, as a word, means to strive with,

a collective reach for excellence,

where one can be at their best,

and each can gain, even in a loss,

one wins in the striving towards the whole.

by Henry H. Walker

February 18, ‘19