{"id":3503,"date":"2026-01-08T13:15:26","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T13:15:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/?p=3503"},"modified":"2026-01-08T13:15:31","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T13:15:31","slug":"in-this-intense-and-powerful-battlefield-i-dont-compete","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/in-this-intense-and-powerful-battlefield-i-dont-compete\/","title":{"rendered":"In this intense and powerful Battlefield, I don&#8217;t compete"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>I don\u2019t compete against anyone.<br>My battlefield is not another person\u2019s lane.<br>My race is not their pace.<br>I compete against my past\u2014<br>my old records,<br>my forgotten dreams,<br>the promises I whispered to myself<br>and never fulfilled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So I challenge me.<br>I chase the version of myself<br>that once felt impossible.<br>I look up to those ahead of me,<br>not with jealousy<br>but with curiosity\u2014<br>learning from their mistakes,<br>from my mistakes,<br>from every stumble I\u2019ve collected on this journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On social media,<br>I don\u2019t scroll to compare,<br>I scroll to grow.<br>To find things that sharpen my mind,<br>stretch my spirit,<br>and upgrade everything inside me.<br>Because I want to see<br>what my best version truly looks like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>when I look at my life,<br>I consider how far I\u2019ve come,<br>the miles I\u2019ve walked<br>that many gave up on,<br>the battles I fought<br>even when I was the only one<br>who still believed I could win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019m learning\u2026<br>that I haven\u2019t arrived yet,<br>but I\u2019m on the way.<br>So I keep my heart open,<br>to my own steps,<br>to my peers,<br>to mentors,<br>even to strangers<br>who carry wisdom in their stories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019m learning not to pressure myself,<br>just because someone else\u2019s season<br>is different from mine.<br>Everyone has their own time<br>under the sun,<br>and the rain doesn\u2019t fall on every roof<br>on the same day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sometimes, life isolates you<br>to elevate you.<br>Being alone,<br>having few friends,<br>talking to nobody at all,<br>it taught me the power of solitude.<br>It taught me how to fly<br>when I barely had the strength to walk,<br>how to smile<br>when inside I was breaking quietly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019m learning that life is beautiful,<br>not because it is easy,<br>but because beauty depends<br>on the eyes that choose to see it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So every morning,<br>I remind myself:<br>One day, all this,<br>every tear, every delay, every prayer, every lesson<br>will become past tense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And at the end of the day,<br>what matters<br>is not the competition,<br>but the legacy.<br>Not the noise, but the impact.<br>Not the race, but the footprints I leave behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I don\u2019t compete with others.<br>I rise against myself.<br>And every day,<br>that is enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/the-strong-reason-why-i-am-unmarried-social-being\/\">The strong reason why I am unmarried social being<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/share\/v\/1PjR9BdKnS\">https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/share\/v\/1PjR9BdKnS<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Turns Out I Was Right \u2013 I Saw It Coming but     Spoken Word by Walking Shadow Poetry\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/xacEsG4Cyfg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I don\u2019t compete against anyone.My battlefield is not another person\u2019s lane.My race is not their pace.I compete against my past\u2014my old records,my forgotten dreams,the promises I whispered to myselfand never fulfilled. So I challenge me.I chase the version of myselfthat once felt impossible.I look up to those ahead of me,not with jealousybut with curiosity\u2014learning from [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[121,97,25,98,1],"tags":[35,49,34,67,50,61,55,53,22,48],"class_list":["post-3503","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-poem","category-poetry","category-solitude","category-storytime","category-uncategorized","tag-poems","tag-poetess","tag-poetry","tag-preciousowoko","tag-spokenword","tag-spokenwords","tag-stories","tag-story","tag-walkingshadowpoetry","tag-walkingshadowpoetrykenya"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3485,"url":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/the-hidden-power-of-alone-time\/","url_meta":{"origin":3503,"position":0},"title":"The hidden power of alone time","author":"walking shadow poetry kenya","date":"December 10, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"I don\u2019t compete against anyone.Not the people beside me,not the ones ahead of me,not the ones watching from a distance. The only person I\u2019m racingis the version of myselfI promised I would become. I compete against my past recordsthe things I said I would achieveand never did,the dreams I postponed,the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;poem&quot;","block_context":{"text":"poem","link":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/SPOKENWORDSandMODERNDAYPOETRY\/poem\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"PRECIOUS OWOKO","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Black-and-White-Square-Wedding-Logo-2.png?fit=500%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3038,"url":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/from-stumbles-to-strength-by-walking-shadow-poetry\/","url_meta":{"origin":3503,"position":1},"title":"From Stumbles to Strength by walking shadow poetry.","author":"walking shadow poetry kenya","date":"January 29, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The mistakes I made?They weren\u2019t just scars;They were lessons written in ink too deep to erase.In fact, they were chapters in a book I once wished to burn.But now, when I look back,I realize they were never meant to be erased. I thought I had to be perfect.I believed every\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;poem&quot;","block_context":{"text":"poem","link":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/SPOKENWORDSandMODERNDAYPOETRY\/poem\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"make mistakes mug","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/pexels-photo-15223238.jpeg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/pexels-photo-15223238.jpeg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/pexels-photo-15223238.jpeg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/pexels-photo-15223238.jpeg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/pexels-photo-15223238.jpeg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2600,"url":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/a-life-of-closed-doors\/","url_meta":{"origin":3503,"position":2},"title":"A Life of Closed Doors","author":"walking shadow poetry kenya","date":"September 7, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"I grew up with the word \"No\"Echoing through my life like a broken song,Each time I tried to reach for something,The world reminded me I didn\u2019t belong. As a child, I learned how to hide my heart,Burying it beneath layers of quiet pain,Rejection wasn't just a moment, it was a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;POETRY&quot;","block_context":{"text":"POETRY","link":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/SPOKENWORDSandMODERNDAYPOETRY\/poetry\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"diverse young men bullying crying ethnic lady","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/pexels-photo-6147126.jpeg?fit=1200%2C779&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/pexels-photo-6147126.jpeg?fit=1200%2C779&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/pexels-photo-6147126.jpeg?fit=1200%2C779&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/pexels-photo-6147126.jpeg?fit=1200%2C779&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/pexels-photo-6147126.jpeg?fit=1200%2C779&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3164,"url":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/regret-is-a-ruthless-teacher-but-i-learned\/","url_meta":{"origin":3503,"position":3},"title":"Regret is a Ruthless Teacher, But I Learned","author":"walking shadow poetry kenya","date":"April 3, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"I was left with questions,ones that echoed in my mind like an unanswered call,ones that made my heart sink a little deeper into itself. Was it my body?Was it my heart?Was it something I said, something that didn\u2019t sit right with you?Did I turn you off?Did I say too much,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;poem&quot;","block_context":{"text":"poem","link":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/SPOKENWORDSandMODERNDAYPOETRY\/poem\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/09023f4b49650973a76c7e72bcf6ae06.jpg?fit=236%2C419&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3500,"url":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/the-strong-reason-why-i-am-unmarried-social-being\/","url_meta":{"origin":3503,"position":4},"title":"The strong reason why I am unmarried social being","author":"walking shadow poetry kenya","date":"January 8, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"You keep asking me about marriage.As if love is a deadline.As if my life is latebecause it hasn\u2019t followed your timetable. So let me answer you once.Not with anger.Not with excuses.Just with truth. I\u2019m not afraid of marriage.I\u2019m afraid of choosing the wrong kind of lovejust to satisfy noise. Marriage\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;poem&quot;","block_context":{"text":"poem","link":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/SPOKENWORDSandMODERNDAYPOETRY\/poem\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/xacEsG4Cyfg\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2414,"url":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/the-fear-of-love-the-craving-for-love\/","url_meta":{"origin":3503,"position":5},"title":"The Fear of Love, The Craving for Love","author":"walking shadow poetry kenya","date":"August 26, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"I\u2019ve been down this road before,Where love feels like a battlefield,And every scar tells a story,Of promises broken,Of trust shattered,Of dreams that turned to dust. I gave my heart,Like a gift wrapped in hope,And watched as it was taken,Then tossed aside,As if my love wasn\u2019t enough,As if I wasn\u2019t enough.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;POETRY&quot;","block_context":{"text":"POETRY","link":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/SPOKENWORDSandMODERNDAYPOETRY\/poetry\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"snow man holiday couple","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/pexels-photo-6549824.jpeg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/pexels-photo-6549824.jpeg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/pexels-photo-6549824.jpeg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/pexels-photo-6549824.jpeg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/pexels-photo-6549824.jpeg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3503","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3503"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3503\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3505,"href":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3503\/revisions\/3505"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3503"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3503"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3503"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}