Reaching or Success

By Andrew R. Duckworth

Growing up, Reggie Miller
Was a hero of mine,
But we can’t all be in the NBA.

And then it was Bruce Willis,
Die Hard and Pulp Fiction,
But we aren’t all made for screen.

Meanwhile, my parents were raising
A bar I wouldn’t see for some time,
One rigorous but reachable.

When I finally saw it,
I was ashamed that I had been
Reaching at idols,

While mother and father wore out
Their hands and feet for family.