try losing instead in poetry

the people who returned from trouble as shiny heroes
are not the ones to ask about the horrors of world
they just lucked out and didn’t see the shit in full
the ones who came home worse for wear but stil alive
nightmares and limps and missing pieces all the way
they’re the ones who were there at the realest and
can tell the tale of what it all really was because

what you “know” will often fail you in your life
our instincts can be wrong more than we can admit
the books you read that others wrote can turn out
to be delusional or outmoded now or flat-out lies
what you have learned directly from experiences
if you’re ever wise, that’s where it comes from
if you have lived, that’s where you go because

do you go on a rollercoaster to “win”?
do you go to beat the other cars to the end?
do you go on a roller coster to “win”?
no, that is an absurdity, of course
you cannot “win” at rollercoaster
you get on to have an experience
an experience for a limited time
why are you trying to “win” life?
screw “winning” fuck “winning”
people who just want to “win”
do not see this life at all
if you’re just here to “win”
you miss out on a brief ride

oh God, fuck the winners
don’t listen to the winners
when all you do is win
you never learn a thing
let alone really live