I Think Failure is a Way to Grow

A ruthless self-assessment for me,

When I look in life’s mirror I see,

Someone who needs to be more bold,

Because I have not yet reached my goal,

So it’s a time to evaluate and make a choice,

But if self growth has a voice,

Between taking a risk and comfort,

It’s risk I really want to court,

I’ll just have to adjust, 

Get used to chance, I must,

Think of failure as a way to grow,

Making a judgment on what I know,

Using the outcome to try once more,

When opportunity knocks at my door,

The talents that were given as gifts,

Do I just let them slowly drift?

In life’s stream what talents did I use?

And which talents did I lose,

While I waited for life to begin,

Or was I waiting for life to end?

And love, sweet love, opportunity lost,

Because I was afraid to risk, at what cost?

By being distant, polite, and verbose,

Rather than being personal and up close,

The gifts I’ve been given I don’t dare,

To eye the talents of others or to compare,

What would others have done in my shoes?

Would they always win and never lose?

History names a few who found a way,

To overcome failure, to find success another day,

To repeat a grade in school, Winston Churchill had to fight,

He wanted a second opportunity to get it right,

Churchill was not the only one,

Who had to battle until he won,

Two hundred attempts in scientific routine,

Until Jonas Salk created a successful vaccine,

Were these two the only ones to fail,

Before their ships began to sail,

The Wrights were told they couldn’t fly,

They knew it was true if they didn’t try,

From the sidelines there is no way,

To have the kind of life I want to portray,

I’ll make a judgment on what I know,

And think of failure as a way to grow.