Failure Fuel Poem by David Welch

Ethan was determined to be the best,
to put to shame all other guitarists,
to rock the world in tight, leather pants,
touring like a God across the land.
So at thirteen years he learned three chords,
didn't think he'd really need any more,
then went to play at the school talent show,
his ‘performance' brought harsh laughter's blow,
ghe first time he saw people so cruel,
his first taste of that bitter, failure fuel.

But Ethan was no so easily shaken,
and with hard rock he was quite taken,
so he learned the fifths, mastered drop-D,
and practiced the scales 'till it looked easy.
At sixteen he formed a band with friends,
played house parties with the best of them,
then one day a Battle-of-Bands came 'round,
to see who was the very best in town,
but by the cover bands Ethan was schooled,
another hard short that failure fuel.

Still Ethan was not the type to quit,
changed his line-up, new singer and bassist,
after graduation he bought an old van,
he started touring, and building up fans,
his band started being known in night-clubs,
he even stayed clear of the booze and drugs.
So focused were they that a new label
signed then up and paid to make a single,
but it went no higher than number sixty-two,
his best song was nothing but failure fuel.

This rankled Ethan, deep down in his core,
his drummer just quit, but Ethan wanted more,
he pressed on touring, writing out new songs,
from catchy romps to grand epics, long.
Their next single climbed to thirty-three,
then the one after made it to fifteen,
they're first album came out, Ethan was proud,
but the critics pounced, cried, 'Sophmoric, loud! '
Some even proclaimed him a no-talent fool,
even rolling in cash he tasted failure fuel.

But he was not the type to stay settled,
they all would see his musical mettle,
so he set out to writing every day,
poured into his songs all he had to say,
for ten years it went, eight albums dropping,
hit after hit, four songs chart-topping,
until even the critics had to admit
that when it came to music, Ethan had it.
He stood at the top, secure in the truth,
you don't get there without some failure fuel.

At fifty he gave a strange interview,
when out promoting an album, quite new,
He said, "They make one mistake, and they're shattered,
too many folks don't fight for what matters,
never told that failure teaches what won't work,
that nothing is easy, and nothing deserved.
What wonders would they have brought about
if they'd simply learned to never drop out.
Nobody ever gets where they're going to
without first topping off on that failure fuel."