House Of Cards Poem by Jason Wittke

I.

I begin
With the foundation,
Laying each piece
Trying to foresee the next,
Never sure if I’ve got it right,
Never sure if I have it this time,
Not even sure if I’m trying,
Or if maybe I’m just setting it up to
Someday,
When I least expect it,
Just as I have everything together,
Just as I have my life
Running perfectly,
And happiness seems to be at last within my grasp,
With love and wealth and contentment
Firmly in my sights,
Fall.

II.

The structure
Seems lovely to an observer,
Standing perfectly balanced,
Perfectly poised.
It seems as if it will stand forever,
But some fatal flaw
Somewhere in its infrastructure
Will assure that soon it will,
Perhaps as I am completing construction,
Just as everything begins making sense
And my happiness is assured,
Long after I have forgotten the laying of the foundation,
Fall.

III.

The house is almost built,
And I have only a few cards left to place
At its pinnacle. I stop and admire
The work I’ve done, convinced
That it is flawless and without imperfection this time,
And that it will stand as I have planned it,
Beautiful,
Majestic,
Triumphant,
And without a single flaw.
And then,
Without warning,
Just as I am placing the final peak
On the final rooftop
Of my beautiful, perfect structure,
It falls.

IV.

I begin
With the foundation,
Laying each piece
Trying to foresee the next,
Never sure if I’ve got it right,
Never sure if I have it this time,
Not even sure if I’m trying,
Or if maybe I’m just setting it up to
Someday,
When I least expect it,
Just as I have everything together,
Just as I have my life
Running perfectly,
And happiness seems to be at last within my grasp,
With love and wealth and contentment
Firmly in my sights,
Fall.