L Milton Hankins Poet Free verse

Racing To the Top

I, for one, am not racing to the top!
I arrived there on so many occasions before.
I remember well my high school diploma,
My first day in college,
My first day on my first job,
Walking across the stage to receive my first degree,
My name on the cover of my first book,
Holding my first great-grandchild ~~
And many more things that happened to me
That say so much more than my name at the top
of some crummy list!

I, for one, do not write for any gold trophy
I remember getting one for…uh, I’ve forgotten…
I remember seeing hundreds in trophy cases,
An all-expense-paid trip to the Bahamas
When my first child was born,
My first trip to Africa to teach seminary students
I have enough gold trophies for a lifetime
They mean so much more to me than a gold trophy
beside a poem title!

written April 21, 2022

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Caren Krutsinger April 22, 2022 at 2:12 AM I understand this "I, for one, do not write for any gold trophy" because I write for myself too, for my soul. L Milton Hankins April 22, 2022 at 7:12 AM Absolutely. I'm with you on this. I feel so sorry for those people who are writing stuff just for accolades and comments, and for those people who are upset because they don't get accolades and comments. If I knew who they were, I'd comment on their poems.

Marco Chies April 21, 2022 at 5:43 PM The race to the top... If the top is the happiness of a full life and the fulfillment of dreams, you've already reached it, my friend! L Milton Hankins April 21, 2022 at 8:59 PM Aw, thanks, Marco, I do feel that way myself. One doesn't seek the pinnacles of one's experiences at 80! The pinnacles came midway through...at least for me.