Under any other circumstance,
I’d have given up, thrown in
the proverbial towel, waved
some scrap of white sail

hoping that the other side
would be understanding of it all.
When I say “it all”
I’m talking about my special way

of starting any endeavor at all
with a measure of gusto normally
reserved for ship christenings, 
before I sink low in defeat.

But today, in a rare show of resolve,
I did what I had set out to do,
and now, having impressed my wife,
something I had not set out to do,

I sense the world is my oyster.
Well, maybe it’s not “my” oyster,
but I’m filled with hope that a pearl awaits,
the universe’s way of congratulating me.