I am one of the final yet not totally.

I am not the first yet nor am I the last.

I am compound yet a cage ultimately.

I am not middling yet nor do I languish.

I am toward the end yet I am not quite.

I am not the worst yet essentially I am.

I am almost there yet just a little more.

I am not second yet inversion will place.

I am too last yet practically at the end.

I am not ultimate failure yet one other.

I am half penny yet not an ultimatum.

WHAT AM I?

Last edition’s Fustigator: Apathetic