A man
puffed up with the aura of importance
irately raises his voice above all others
and crushes legitimate concerns
in a tyranny of knowledge.

A small man
continually struggles with the
memory of tall, thin boys who
taunted and jeered,
attractive girls who pointed
and sneered and drove him to
self-imposed isolation.

A loner
sought solace in books, academics and
dreams; one day deemed to demand
respect and to patiently await the
rewards success dictate:
payment due from vanished peers.

A success
arrived on the scene
overstating and complicating
gleefully parading his knowledge and wit
before the ghosts of his past.

A failure
inflated with ego
accusingly jabs at ignorance and
practices unnecessary histrionics
in the presence of an absent audience
not realizing he will die without
ever having earned the true,
unvarnished respect of his peers.