Issue 30 · One poem

Soft Spoken

Poetry · Real covers · Literary design
Clark J. Madsen
Issue 30 · One poem
One poem · Soft Spoken
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The Habit

Issue 30 · One poem

The Habit

Practice until the better self becomes muscle memory.

· · ·

I am your constant companion.
I am you greatest helper,
Or your heaviest burden.
I will push you onward,
Or drag you down to failure.
I am completely at your command.
Half the things you do,
You might just as well turn over to me,
And I will be able to do them quickly and correctly.
I am easily managed;
You must merely be firm with me.
Show me exactly how you want something done,
And after a few lessons I will do it automatically.
I am the servant of all great men,
And alas of all failures as well.
Those who are great, I have made great,
Those who are failures, I have made failures,
I am not a machine,
Though I work with all the precision of a machine,
Plus the intelligence of a man
You may run me for profit, or for ruin; it makes no difference to me.
Take me, train me, be firm with me,
And I will put the world at your feet.
Be easy with me,
And I will destroy you!
Who am I?
I am a habit!
Unknown Author
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Inward Battle
Inward Battle

“And I will be able to do them quickly and correctly.”

The Habit
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Source poems drawn from MD Hub Knowledge Base Poetry (id 66). Magazine presentation for Soft Spoken — one issue per poem, photoreal covers.