Prototype (an acrostic poem)

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Putting together yet another try was one of the most satisfying things he did

Reaching down he snapped in the last fitting and took a breath, ready to see if it worked

Of course, building all these iterations was also one of the worst things he could do

They reminded him of the numerous failures he didn’t plan for, that he was a bad engineer

Only he knew there was almost zero chance that the first one would work out of the box

That was the stuff of myths, legends, and dumb luck

Yearning to know if this was the one, he flipped the on switch

Prepared for sparks to fly and flames to claim one more attempt

Except this time it didn’t burn.  It still didn’t work, but that was still progress?

Honor (an acrostic poem)

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He normally didn’t care about his reputation

Others could go screw themselves if they wanted to judge him

Now though, his whole world was flipped upside-down

On this day he had become a father

Responsible to this precious little girl…

Bust (an acrostic poem)

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Building a tower of luck and lies she raised her bet

Understanding it was all or nothing now

She tapped for a card and held her breath

The dealer flipped a card and smiled sadly

Youth (an acrostic poem)

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You remember those days when your body didn’t ache

Or you could eat two pizzas and not gain a pound

Until that dreaded middle age kicked in

That flipped your whole world, but you didn’t notice till it was too late

Here we are now, but there is a silver lining.  Okay, maybe not.