When to temptation I am fully led,
I ask of you to calmly guide me past,
Enduring my tirade—it will not last—
And disregard the things I will have said.
When sirens sing their songs to me ahead,
I ask that you would lash me to the mast,
To tie my hands and feet, and bind them fast,
To keep me safe from those who wish me dead.
Though I have strength that rivals any man,
With wits that never break and rarely bend
Despite the circumstances that belie
And contradict, as circumstances can,
Sometimes even the greatest need a friend
Upon whose faith they know they can rely.

© 2008 by E. Shaun Russell. All rights reserved.