Most Likely To Succeed

"most likely to succeed";

i only made the grades.

i finished lots of school, but

i haven't got a trade.

you started out so low.

you've never finished first.

you've hardly ever finished!

perseverance unenforced.

i see you and i tremble,

i flinch as you implore.

your living seems like losing.

i swear that i need more.

but i am not much better;

i have crazy dreams;

my roots are surface shallow;

my hold looser than it seems.

so how can i point fingers,

require all from you,

when i just want some babies?

i won't be doing what you do.

your weakness might be magic.

your talents, buried deep,

might blossom out of nowhere

though i said they wouldn't keep.

do you think that i'll feel foolish?

will i look back with regret

when you're making all your millions,

and i've lost our stupid bet?

the fact is i can't tell.

the future's dark to me.

you might soar above the clouds 

or be sunk beneath the sea.
and what about us then?

could i be part of that?

the gamble that you offer:

whitest white or darkest black.

it isn't that i know 

that you will never measure up;

it's just that i am sure

that promises are not enough.

i watch your scattered flailings,

and i wonder if i see

a genius left untapped

and a soul that dances free.

don't let my worry shake you

from your faith and earnest hope.

i'll cheer you on forever.

and maybe one day we'll elope.

Icarus by Frank Frazetta