I Can Accomplish Anything I Try

Author's Note: Mr. Johnson and I are beginning to work on a different way of poetry together.  For our first one, we are doing a parallel poem to When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer by Walt Whitman.  I made a couple of attempts to write this poem.  I also learned that I tend to rush when working and my following try will always be better than my first.  

When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer by Walt Whitman

When I heard the learn’d astronomer,
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me,
When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them,
When I, sitting, heard the astronomer where he lectured with much applause in the
lecture-room,
How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick,
Till rising and gliding out I wander’d off by myself,
In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,
Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars.

I Can Accomplish Anything I Try by Mai Vo

Before I bothered to try,
Before the lessons, and accidents just waiting to happen,
Before I tolerated the snow, the cold, and the fears of going down,
Before I listened to everyone where they spoke about the thrill and the adventures on the
rugged slopes,
How soon, unbelievable, I felt victory and excitement,
Again, rising and beginning at the summit,
Then looking down and imagining what I can accomplish,
Letting go, and gliding to the base.