Blighted

How joyful it must be to be better than the rest
To be the fastest or the strongest in one's class
To be on the winning team in every contest
Endless trophies, cups and medals to amass

How delightful to have fulfilled nature's purpose
By demonstrating prowess in one's field
To be proved to be so awfully good at something
And to have one's gift emphatically revealed

How distinguished one must look up on that podium
While the others stare up at one from below
And how special one must feel, and how blessed
As one basks in one's triumphant afterglow

But for me such notions are a distant daydream
I'm just five foot one, asthmatic and short-sighted
So I'll have to be content to be the one that comes in last
By design, my life is permanently blighted

So I'll settle for the scraps to compensate for my defects
Such as friendship, wisdom, love and self-esteem
Security and shelter, happiness and rudish health
Just an also-ran in nature's harsh regime