The Prognosis of a Passionate Man (Part III) (poem)

By Luke Labern

Though life is submissive to none
A transcendental condition of
Success is the belief that you
Can handle the tests coming your way.

Silent no longer, let me reveal --
If you give up, or practise pessimism,
You've already lost.
                                Life consumes the weak.

They say the 'stars align' --
But I don't believe it.
No God -- no Gods -- no mysticism.
All we have are the hands we are dealt.

We're all gamblers -- and life is never equal --
But those who win big
Always stake the most.
It's not as dramatic as it sounds.

No cliché bullshit, 'high risk/reward'.
No: I stake my whole life on a single spin,
A single number -- 21 -- and eat, breath, drink and love
The things I do.

If you aren't passionate, you're already dead.