In moments of deep doubt or intense pain,
When I am overpowered by my life,
I search around me everywhere I can
For kindred souls who know what I know not,
For those who have the strength to mitigate
What makes me tremble, weep, and often brood.
They tell me that I cannot live my way
Where all my feelings rule my conscious mind.
I must control myself before the act,
Or else accept what I have long endured,
The brutal days of feeling lost and blind.
There have been times, not many but a few,
When someone has possessed the soothing balm,
Providing surcease for my angst or pain.
But age has taught me now one simple rule.
Inside myself I must the screams contain,
Whatever devils must be wrestled there,
The lessons learned will not be lost again.
We walk alone our final trip.
No hand can helps us on that day of death.
It's best we learn, while time is still our friend,
To trust ourselves, and save our precious breath.
Source - Rama Revealed by Arthur C. Clarke and Gentry Lee