third-mate-third
I thank you in advance for any kind words. Battle ego like a cancer. / / / A Third Mate is a licensed member of the deck department of a merchant ship. He is a watchstander and customarily the ship's safety officer, fourth-in-command / / Follow no one, not me / lead only, / read only, / craft yourself a better poet, / after you have crafted yourself / a better being / / leaders are dragged to the fore / / selected and elected, / pushed and pulled / / be wary of those who shout, boast, / Follow Me, / they think not of you, / only of the me in us, / their glory in your gore / / do not follow me, / I shall not follow you. / / let us each lead by example, / upon the shoulders / of our fellows we be lifted / spontaneously combined, not combusted / / then, / go quietly inside yourself amidst the haste / / for fellowship endures, / but fame fleeting, / the adorers will soon flee / to the next prince of promises / / when to the ground you slide, / slipped from their tilting shoulders, / be unsurprised
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