To be aware you’ve been set up to fail
Does not make failing any easier.
Entreaties may be from beyond the pale,
But asker’s confidence it will occur

Infects your brain and makes you wonder why
You hesitated just before agreeing.
Now you’ve agreed to give the task a try,
Your self-recrimination guaranteeing.

It breaks the heart so nearly to succeed
When in the shared delusion you’ve invested
Your time and worked until your fingers bleed,
For failure finds your faith in self arrested.

And so the next time chutzpah comes your way
You’re likelier to shrug and say okay.