Intricate obstacles in place                         

Doubt dances mockingly in my face.  
Failure drags me deep into the muddy earth, 
Step-by-step, I tip-toe out with little worth. 

But still, like a trojan horse, for success, I will work.

Belittled, I’m constrained to conventional expectations.
I’m consumed and confounded by inner relations.
My talents, intentions, and visions chained by diffidence.
Impotent, I cower like a rag doll, and cover myself with a blanket of indifference.

But still, through the snafu, for recognition, I will work.

Do you see my bruised under eyes?  
Do you hear my aching cries?
Stress and incompetence, my mind they burglarize.
Do you notice my curtain of agony? No, I think otherwise.  

Finally, the sun and stars shine, sparkling my sky.
All my Inner tyrants, goodbye.
I smile from ear to ear,
For my failures have brought me here.     

But still, like an animal succeeding in its hunt, I work.

Failure can beat me to the ground,
Insecurity can throw me to the clouds.
I am the dove that flew from under layers of failure.
I am the compass leading my inner sailor.    

Drowned in an ocean of insecurities,
I work      
Up from a past full of doubted abilities,
I work           
Striving perfection,
I work
Correction after correction,
I work         
In times of defeat and triumph
I work
I work
I work