Others would bend me to their form,
Which I resist. The deformation
Thereby achieved, through revocation,
Perchance had brought me near the norm.
Yet—student not in college dorm--
Mine lies past facile emendation,
“Character molding,” motivation,
My soul which rides upon the storm.
Others would have me bend the knee
To other than the will of heaven--
They that by Mammon’s ways are driven--
But I will yet resist their fee.
Despite present adversity,
Emboldened be my spirit, even
My adverse stars outnumber seven:
Huge is the wave that carries me.