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# Sincerely
- URL: https://www.andyposner.org/sincerely/
- Published: 2022-08-14T19:00:02.000Z
- Updated: 2026-07-15T05:02:59.000Z
- Author: Andy
- Tags: poetry, #Migrated-1784090317409, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-07-15 04:39

Dearest, I meant to prove myself worthy  
of every challenge, up to death itself.

The day began with feats of strength, like  
getting out of bed and brushing my teeth.

I took till noon to venture out; by then  
the mid-day sun hovered angrily,

a hive of wasps I couldn’t swat away.  
Where had all the shade gone? I retreated

to bed, but the covers burned my skin; I heard  
the oppressive buzz of insects under my pillows.

I promised, if not perfection, improvement:  
to fulfill my personal manifest destiny.

My religion was willpower, my trial this bed-bound  
agony. And what is on the other side—what awaits

those who, after decades dreaming dreams  
of glory, inch their way down to the valley floor?

I am in a field of tombs, each a cautionary tale.  
To my right, a king who thought he could tame

the sea. To my left, a pauper who drowned to show  
he couldn’t. Some get it right. Others die for nothing...

When were you going to tell me that a sincere but  
wrongly held belief is no less wrong for being sincere?

*Saturday, August 14, 2022*