Once I met a man whose fortune was my opposite

My every victory was his defeat

His every triumph foreshadowed my own misfortune

We were on opposite sides of a Pendulum not restrained by impartial Gravity

I called this man my friend

I tried to be joyous as a friend should

As he conquered the world in his own way

Masking my own pain

As my own world fell apart

I called this task my burden

I am not sure when I began to blame him

As if he knew my failure would trigger his success

Though miles, schools and vocations separated us

Still he must have known

I called this obsession my madness

I know one day I will know Joy

A job, a wife, a child or life

And I will wait for my friend’s misery – but it won’t come

Like coal in my eye sockets

It doesn’t matter what I called this, it is hate