Sonnet XLIV – Plans Best Laid

When all the plans best laid “Gang aft a-gley”
(May ken of Scottish poets serve you well),
It matters not if mouse or man today;
When things “Gang aft” your heaven turns to hell.
Perhaps if heaven hinges on Our Plan,
That paradise designed may need a tweak.
‘Tis better not to count on just “Man’s Can”;
Admit our measured toiling oft is weak.
Just take today and live it to the full;
Make choices as they come and rest assured
The outcome of the ayes and nays shall pull
Us to a morrow ripened and matured.
So pluck a pear, an apple, or a peach;
And savor sweetness ’til again we reach.