When there is no one else competing
the contest is even harder,
for the only person
you have to beat
is you
and the rules you place
at the start of the race.

And sure,
you can cheat
in this unnamed competition
but what is the point?
Who are you cheating
but yourself?
So you hew to the stones around you
even if that is perhaps
not the correct usage of that phrase
(Oh, it isn’t?
Well, maybe I’ll fix it later)
and race the path you’ve outlined
and you hope you’ll accomplish everything you planned
and if you fail,
you fail.

There is no one judging you
unless you admit to the rest
there was a race
and you couldn’t keep pace.
But why would you do that?
Why bother to announce
your intended accomplishments
only to have to explain the failures later?
Why set yourself up
to admit your loss
to yourself?