Haggard

coarse course of haggard trails

bearing brambles to be cut away

interfere with the smooth running

of everyday affairs and best-laid plans

as if the sky were falling down

and Chicken Little had broadcast the news

in adult terms perhaps we think of rockslides

or crashes on Wall Street that lead to failure

of our failsafe hopes and intentions

but no matter how sure our inventions

of ways to keep everyone happy

some will not be fed and some miss dessert