The best laid plans, as Robbie said, go wrong
And leave us feeling saddened and distressed-
One has but little choice to go along
And hope the plans survive the latest test.

Though one can’t guess the vagaries of fate,
One can design a strategy robust
In which contingencies are given weight,
Statistics leaving fortune quite nonplussed.

But when a plan is lacking from inception
And your resources cannot be sufficient
To fix it, your selective self-deception
Convinces you you’re actually omniscient.

But no: on fickle luck you are dependent
And if not luck, his taciturn attendant.