How strangely life unfolds,
Are we merely standing by
with our fates beyond control?

At the outset we are told
we can reach beyond the sky.
How strangely life unfolds.

We set out proud and bold,
but our paths soon turn aside.
Are our fates beyond control?

We rethink what we were told.
Were they dreams or outright lies?
How strangely life unfolds.

So we struggle at the shore
to restrain the ebb tide high.
Are our fates beyond control?

Ah, the tide will ebb and flow.
Just relax into the ride.
How strangely would life unfold
if we let fate take control?

It’s National Poetry Writing Month (NaPoWriMo)!

Day Twenty-Three prompt from NaPoWriMo.net: write a villanelle, and have the poem end on a question.