Doubt draws a diagram for my soul to see. Fastened to fate, my soul couldn’t flee. Despair with a dentition that deceives my heart. I fell like a seed, my root got trapped by earth. The blade of my belief has suddenly gone blunt. Surely, hope has fallen a victim of small fonts. Hesitancy with a hold the sleeves of a decision. Futility also flings her fangs with utter precision. Doubt with a deliberate determination to deliver. The Chinese fable of a little horse and a river. Lanre Badmus The Poetic Assassin Mississippi USA January 2026