from chooser to beggar

when s/he had been a chooser,

s/he had been younger, s/he had more

energy, s/he had the proverbial

“world as his/her oyster”

&

one who had met him/her then,

might have withdrawn quickly from

his/her presence,

for his/her cockiness might have pushed

right through them,

as a bulldozer might

through a building that it was tearing down.

life did not take a prisoner,

when hit came to him/her &

like the grinder that makes hamburger,

it did grind away the youth, the energy,

the cockiness & the time

which might have made the world that

proverbial “oyster”.

s/he who once had options,

now found him/herself at the whim of others &

rather eating from a bountiful plate,

now s/he scrapped for what s/he could get,

having become a beggar,

having given up the pride, the power

s/he once had.

having met the same person who had

pushed aside anyone in their way,

to get to the top,

to get what they want,

in the past---

now, later in life,

from chooser to beggar,

the onlooker finds that

s/he is now much more civil,

s/he is much more compassionate,

one might even say

kind &

so what it takes to grind one down

has taken its toll.