Competition

If life is a contest where some

must be victorious and others,

by necessity, must face defeat,

then diversity is a paint-loaded palette

flung onto a freshly washed baptismal gown

as it hangs to dry on the clothesline.

We must do whatever it takes

to keep that unruly rainbow

locked safely far, far away,

so that it doesn't desecrate

our pristine path to the medal podium. 

But if we are placed on this earth

for an altogether different purpose,

and  the old African proverb is true:

"If you want to go fast, go alone;

if you want to go far, go together.",

then diversity is a gift to be celebrated

and shared for the duration.

It's difficult to look, travel, or think

very far and still imagine that winning

is the thing for which we were created.

Simply being a part of

this gloriously complex creation

already makes champions of us all.

Why would we want to detract

from that with a narrow exclusivism?

© 2013 Todd Jenkins