Just when you think
you’ve got it made,
figured out
how the game is played,
someone gives
the wheel a spin.
Now you’re out
instead of in.
Now you’re down
instead of up.
Someone else
takes home the cup.
Now you’re low
instead of high,
and lesser mortals
pass you by.
Just when you’ve earned
a bit of fame,
the fickle world
forgets your name.
And though it’s time
you got your due,
the tables turn.
The joke’s on you.
Antonia Clark works for a medical software company in Burlington, Vermont, where she is known as the Style Queen, both for her command of English grammar and her extensive shoe collection. She has taught creative writing and is co-administrator of an online poetry forum, The Waters. Recent work can be found in The Chimaera, The Innisfree Poetry Journal, Mannequin Envy, MiPOesias, Stirring, and elsewhere. She’s in love with France and plays French café music on a sparkly purple accordion.
© 2009, Antonia Clark
Halfway Down the Stairs 