He lost his money first of all <br />And losing that is half the story- <br />And later on he tried a fall <br />With fate, in things less transitory <br />He lost his heart-and found it dead- <br />(His one and only true discovery), <br />And after that he lost his head, <br />And lost his chances of recovery. <br />He lost his honour bit by bit <br />Until the thing was out of question. <br />He worried so at losing it, <br />He lost his sleep and his digestion. <br />He lost his temper- and for good- <br />The remnants of his reputation, <br />His taste in wine, his choice of food, <br />And then, in rapid culmination, <br />His certitudes, his sense of truth, <br />His memory, his self control, <br />The love that graced his early youth, <br />And lastly his immortal soul.<br /><br />Hilaire Belloc<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-loser-6/
