When You Reach the Top Rung

There’s an old scam—

they say there’s a ladder

with endless rungs.

And you must climb

as many as you can.

If you don’t,

you’ll fall behind.

Your peers will scurry past you.

So, you’re told:

Climb faster.

Climb harder.

Use whatever means you must.

They say the view from the top

is breathtaking.

That it must be savored.

That people will clap for you

when you reach the zenith.

And so—

day and night,

like Sisyphus—

you keep toiling.

But the proverbial “top”

never really arrives,

at least not within

your brief lifetime.

It flickers like a mirage.

And if it does come,

by some stroke of fate,

you may find

it’s cold and lonely up there.

Then you ask yourself,

Why did I chase this?

Why did I give in to the temptation?

You sit with the question,

counting your days

in quiet sorrow and remorse.