Song of Those Who Never Stood a Chance
 
I sail back out to sea again,
in search of those who wander yet
across the sea’s relentless plain,
to find them there, to not forget.
 
I think today of those who fought the gods:
the fools, the drunkards, and the god-obsessed.
The vanishingly few who beat the odds:
those who endured, and those who failed the test.
 
The smokers and the drinkers and the lost –
I think of them. The strugglers with pain,
the unperfected. All the tempest-tossed,
the sleepers. Now, I see them all again.
 
This song’s for those who never stood a chance –
who call out from the belly of the whale.
It’s time to bust a move at the school dance!
It’s time to speak! It’s time to tell our tale!
 
Cut the rock and make it true.
Carve the wood and let it speak.
Be precise in what you do.
Arrive at last at what you seek.


John Isbell
 
If you have any thoughts about this poem,  John Isbell would be pleased to hear them