The Distress of Fame (30 days of poetry: day 14)

 

Prompt: 14) Distress

The pain and distress you feel,
When tumbling down from the hill,
Is far greater than when you climbed it.
When you climb you have a goal in mind,
And then if you stop to look behind:
You will be happy at how far you've come.
Then the pain in your feet,
And the distress of the heat,
Will feel like challenges you're going to overcome.
But when you've reached the peak,
The scent of victory you'll lick:
But you forget that there's no way but down.
Then you'll trip on an abandoned shoe,
And come tumbling down, as if you never flew,
You'll scream, terrified.
Your hands would try to grab on to:
Rocks, branches and anything would do:
But they'd all slip because of the sweat on your palms.
You'll get caught in thorns and bushes,
Try to exert futile pushes,
To steady yourself, but alas.
Now you've fallen, hurt and pained,
And just look at what you've gained:
Scratches, bruises and hairline fractures.

---

Author’s thoughts

“The Distress of Fame” is a poem about the pitfalls that come after reaching the pinnacle of fame or success at a particular field. I admit that it’s a cliched allegory and I did not really like the implementation of the prompt.

---

I have a gig on Fiverr where I’ll write a poem for you on any topic you want. You can find that gig here if you are interested in availing my service.

---

This prompt is given by Trisha Saha.