The Nearly Men By Terry Ireland

I am one of the nearly men Never quite the best Not really of the crowd Not quite one of the rest. You see us in every photograph When the prizes are handed out Making up the numbers yet Never standing out For we nearly men and dreamers Just stand back and allow The doers and the action men Their triumphal bows. We feed our children humour And tell them it's no disgrace To amble along comfortably In the middle of the race. We don't believe in heavens Or gods at pearly gates So we try with dignity To accept our various fates. We consume our allotted portions And when it's time to die We face it not with a roar But with a quiet sigh. Nearly men and dreamers Never quiet never loud Trying their hardest not To mingle with the crowd

Copyright Terry Ireland 2010

This poem can also be read on iPoetry, the poetry app for the iphone/ipod touch available on the Apple iTunes App Store.

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