‘Last Place Winner’ by Guy Warner The Society September 17, 2022 Beauty, Humor, Poetry 9 Comments . Last Place Winner after winning the 30-34 age group with a last-place finish in a 5K Inhaling frozen oxygen, he rounds The final turn. No cheers, just muffled sounds. He barely wobbles ‘cross the finish line And checks the lit-up numbers on the sign. Nobody else is coming, there stand the rest. Yet upward turns his smile—personal best! He laughs as he receives his age-group gold. True vict’ry for the one who faced the cold. . . Guy Warner is a pastor in Birmingham, AL. He received his M.Div. from Liberty University. His other poetry can be found on SometimesPoetry.org. NOTE TO READERS: If you enjoyed this poem or other content, please consider making a donation to the Society of Classical Poets. The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary. Trending now: 9 Responses Jeremiah Johnson September 17, 2022 Guy, I love the down to earthness of this one. The kind of thing I like to write about: Not too lofty, and yet the events of our lives are lofty, in a sense, in themselves, as we are fashioned in the “Imago Dei” Reply Guy Warner September 17, 2022 Thank you, we are indeed made in God’s image. Effort, struggle, sacrifice and courage matter, even if no one cheers our name. He sees, the ones we love see, and we ourselves see. And that should be enough for us. Reply Roy E. Peterson September 17, 2022 Even completing the race would be a personal win for me! Congratulations to whomever ran the race, but especially to the one who had the chutzpah to come in last yet still win a trophy. Not, by the way, just a participation trophy, but competing and finishing. Who is to say he would not have beaten out others in his age group! Reply Guy Warner September 17, 2022 It was a VERY cold day, and only seven people showed up to race! I was pretty outclassed by the others, but sometimes showing up and going for it is all it takes. Reply jd September 17, 2022 Congratulations, Guy, for the poem and the race. Reply Guy Warner September 17, 2022 Thanks! Just wait until I actually WIN one, that poem will be epic for sure Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant September 18, 2022 What more could one want than to achieve their ‘personal best’? Congratulations on the victory and the poetry! Thoroughly enjoyable and very well written. Reply Cheryl Corey September 19, 2022 This was one individual race, but in life as well, you have to run your own race and just do your very best. Reply Guy Warner September 22, 2022 That’s right! And much of the contest is simply showing up and going for it. Most would rather sit back and scoff at the runners, sure they would do better if they could be bothered to try. But even one who is less deserving will walk home with the prize if he has the guts to actually step up and compete. Reply Leave a Reply Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published.CommentName* Email* Website Δ This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Jeremiah Johnson September 17, 2022 Guy, I love the down to earthness of this one. The kind of thing I like to write about: Not too lofty, and yet the events of our lives are lofty, in a sense, in themselves, as we are fashioned in the “Imago Dei” Reply
Guy Warner September 17, 2022 Thank you, we are indeed made in God’s image. Effort, struggle, sacrifice and courage matter, even if no one cheers our name. He sees, the ones we love see, and we ourselves see. And that should be enough for us. Reply
Roy E. Peterson September 17, 2022 Even completing the race would be a personal win for me! Congratulations to whomever ran the race, but especially to the one who had the chutzpah to come in last yet still win a trophy. Not, by the way, just a participation trophy, but competing and finishing. Who is to say he would not have beaten out others in his age group! Reply
Guy Warner September 17, 2022 It was a VERY cold day, and only seven people showed up to race! I was pretty outclassed by the others, but sometimes showing up and going for it is all it takes. Reply
Guy Warner September 17, 2022 Thanks! Just wait until I actually WIN one, that poem will be epic for sure Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant September 18, 2022 What more could one want than to achieve their ‘personal best’? Congratulations on the victory and the poetry! Thoroughly enjoyable and very well written. Reply
Cheryl Corey September 19, 2022 This was one individual race, but in life as well, you have to run your own race and just do your very best. Reply
Guy Warner September 22, 2022 That’s right! And much of the contest is simply showing up and going for it. Most would rather sit back and scoff at the runners, sure they would do better if they could be bothered to try. But even one who is less deserving will walk home with the prize if he has the guts to actually step up and compete. Reply
