Prayer
David Tomas Martinez
I must
not succeed.
Success is the mind-killer.
Success
is the little-death
that brings total
obliteration. I will face
my success. I will
permit it to pass
over me and through
me. And when it has
gone
past, I will
turn the inner
to see
its path. Where
the success has gone there will be
nothing.
Only I will remain.
About this poem
“‘Prayer’ is a gerrymandering of Frank Herbert’s ‘Dune,’ a novel I devoured as a teenager. By reconfiguring and altering the language of Paul Atreides’ mantra, this poem reveals the contiguous space fear and success occupy in the mind.” – David Tomas Martinez
About David Tomas Martinez.
David Tomas Martinez is the author of “Hustle” (Sarabande Books, 2014). He is a visiting assistant professor of creative writing at Texas Tech University and splits his time between Lubbock, Texas, and Brooklyn, N.Y.
The Academy of American Poets is a nonprofit, mission-driven organization, whose aim is to make poetry available to a wider audience. Email The Academy at poem-a-day@poets.org.
(c) 2015 David Tomas Martinez. Originally published by the Academy of American Poets, www.poets.org. Distributed by King Features Syndicate.
