Overcoming Failure
It started out small
Probably sometime around fifth grade.
A tiny marble that rolled in my head,
And down the hill picking up speed.
It steadily grew,
Till the hand that released it
Was pushing my hand,
Pushing my body,
Pushing my brain.
It is always there
Lurking in the cold muddled swamps.
The alligator waiting,
For the prey to make a mistake.
One mistake
That's all it takes
Which sends you plummeting
Into the long stretch of darkness.
When you land at the bottom
You're surrounded by mirrors
And only your reflection looks back,
Like a song that rings in your ears
The question repeats itself
"Why didn't you succeed?"
A water droplet echoes in the crystal prism,
I can't answer that question.
But before the alligator clenches his jaws
I pause for a moment,
I stare at it, looking dead in its green pupils
Determination rises with the blazing sun.
The marble has been shattered against the brick wall
Like tiny splinters of liquid sand,
Which remain as sprinkles in my head.
And the alligator still stalks,
Although the spines on his back
Are practically bone sticking out.
And as I sit here looking at the sun
I wonder how the alligator will survive
Since the prey has left for eternity.