I was told

I am the sole captain

Of my ship

The  chief architect

Of my building

Did they not say

If I fail

If I succeed

I will be praised

I will be blamed

It will all be

My own making

I charted a course

I set my sail

I gave my life

A sense of direction

But here am I

In strange waters

Here I am

In parallel strokes

With unknown sharks

Here am I

Lurking between

Unseen reefs

Swirling between

Unfriendly eels

Despite

All my preparation

Life happens

Notwithstanding

All my determination

Plans fail

Here am I

Lost ashore

I cannot cry

Salt water stings

More than my tears

Why try cry

The shades of twilight

Are soon to be swallowed

By trenches of gloom

Am I alive

It’s still so painful

Pain is  a sign

A symptom of life

Death is yet a myth

Shrouded in reality