The Victory Song of Defeat

I know your story, I know the reason for your pain too.

I know that every morning when you wake up, your body no longer wants to move, wants to sink back into bed, yearning for just a little more rest, just a little more tenderness. But your body never gets that rest or tenderness.

I know the secret of your laughter. How many drops of pain you hide with how many drops of laughter—I have them all memorized. And I also know that most people don't know the stories behind that false laughter, and never will.

I keep track of your day and night labors. The peace you return home seeking after bone-breaking toil—you never receive even a fraction of that peace, and I don't need to tell you that. I know all of this.

I know about your love too. The person you prepare yourself for little by little each day, thinking of whom you've turned night into day and day into night, the person for whom you've sworn to forget the world if you could have them—that person doesn't love you. Someone else lives in their imagination, someone else's hand rests in theirs today.

Keep yourself strong. This world is not meant for you. The person you love doesn't even know what love is.

And listen to this too: you will lose to this world, to the rules they've made. But remember, you alone are the victor. You alone lived as one should live. By losing, you taught us how to win.

My congratulations to you, my congratulations to you.