The Voice Behind Me

I sensed it first, though none stood in sight,

A shadowed voice always followed my flight.

It never appeared, never showed its face,

Yet I always felt its footsteps behind my pace.

In every classroom, from childhood days,

Through graduate school and scholarly ways,

It lingered behind me, silent and near,

A whisper of warning I learned to hear.

"Bring all you've got, leave nothing behind,

Or failure may catch what ambition can't find."

I had no proof it was there, no figure to see,

Yet its presence felt stronger than life.

Each interview room held that familiar weight,

A watcher unseen at the edge of fate.

As questions were asked and judgments drew near,

That voice in the shadows spoke clearly in my ear.

"Give more than you're able, then give a bit more.

Success favors those who refuse to ignore

The cost of complacency, the danger of ease,

The dreams that are lost when effort agrees."

So, I answered with labor, persistence, and grit,

Refusing to yield, refusing to quit.

For failure, to me, was a door never crossed,

No matter the challenge, no matter the cost.

And when I look back, I feel that I've won,

I thank that strange presence that urged me to run.

Still unseen today, yet faithfully the same,

Forever behind me, always demanding I bring my A-Game.