As I crawl through the ruins
Of my burnt laboratory,
I cannot help but think of this
As an elaborate allegory.
I’ll tell you all about it
If you’ll breathe in smoke
and smog with me;
The mapping of my life has
A predictable geography.
Inside of me I always hear
Ambitious demons calling
They’ll push me to rise up
And laugh when I am falling
But I will treasure loss
As though it were a prize,
For I’ll fail! I’ll fail,
I’ll fail,
and I will rise.
And if I led a different life,
Chose a different job
I’d likely much less often
Flee from an angry mob
They say that I build monsters;
That claim is not unjust
I make strange things to endure
What punishment they must.
Inside of me I always feel
Ambitious demons raging
And they defy all of my
Attempts at any caging.
And I know it happens,
More often than I realize:
For I’ll fail, I’ll fail,
I’ll fail,
and I will rise.
As I build the foundations
Of my next laboratory
I know I would not stop for Hell
And I’d burn down Purgatory.
And if you want to stop me,
Better aim to kill
And even then, run from my corpse –
You can’t be sure
that I’ll lie still.
Inside of me I am my own
Ambitious demon calling
And I won’t let myself stay down
(Not even when I’m falling)
And I will treasure loss,
Because I realize
For I’ll fail, I’ll fail,
I’ll fail,
and I will rise.
My name is Jeff Mach (“Dark Lord” is optional) and I build communities, put on events, and make stories come into being. I also tweet a lot over @darklordjournal.
I write books. You should read them!
My new book, “I Hate Your Time Machine”, is now available! Go pick it up!
