Of Course I Will Poem by Herbert Nehrlich

He woke one day,
at dawn
and felt an emptiness
perhaps a pawn
had been demanded and,
the gods had come
and taken,
with great impunity
as if to say
it matters not,
you've had your fun
with limbs and such
now it is time
to give,
surrender space,
new opportunity
for those who touch
the clock's loud chime
and march ahead
singing a melody
of hope and joy
while passing,
the introverted boy
not meant to live
yet there is energy
inside a head
crammed full of words
and of a hardened will
beneath a face
that hides a poker grin
and like those Hitchcock birds
the ambience, first still,
a silent pledge to win.