THE EGO OF SMALLNESS

It is assumed that ego is a giant sense of self,


A self-important person, making others appear small,


A grandiose delusion pushing others to the side,


And doing what is best for self, excluding rights of all,



It is, however, lesser known, that ego can be small,


The person who diminishes, whatever they might do,


Believing it’s humility, to see the self like dust,


And see themselves as lesser-than, accomplishments as few,



They get all A’s on their exams, and claim their edge unfair,


They win awards and say, there’s someone else who should have won,


Negating any true success, and credit where it’s due,


Experiencing the world, like they are less than everyone,



It’s common they were victims of a zero-sum game play,


Where their success made someone else feel low,


And they were taught by winning, someone else will feel the pain,


Always punished for succeeding, and made into a new foe,



To balance now the ego, we must see why it is there,


What purpose it was serving and what function it has played,


It doesn’t matter high or low, when understand we must,


That it was just a mask put on, the child, small, afraid.



-Pamela Storch