The Tournament

We all have loads to lift
and wheelbarrows to tilt.
—Molly Malone Cook

just the way it goes
burdens hang on,
fixtures, attachments
worn or carried,
sometimes with grace
other times dragged
along with a weariness
that tires the body

just the way it goes
we jostle with loads,
play David to Goliath
wrestle with odds
keep getting up
and go at it again
and again
until we tire
and then begin again