with grace in poetry

Believe in anything you can’t prove too much and
pretty soon you’re a hammer and
everything that disagrees is a nail.
Don’t believe too much.

Sympathy is easy but it doesn’t last long.
Empathy endures but it takes reaching down
into uncomfortable places where
most people refuse to go.
Go there.

Sometimes you gotta squeeze
out that ego like the blackhead
on the side of your nose it is.
Bruising may occur
maybe you’ll even bleed.
Let it bleed.

Success is rare but easy
if you come to it by influence or luck.
Failing with grace
that’s hard work all the way down.
Failing with grace
you gotta be good or you’re fucked.
Don’t blame yourself so much.

There’s so much more to this
than the facts in front of your face.
Do it with grace
do it with grace.