Polytropos, Monotropos, Zero

Who preaches failure will come
To grief as surely as those
Who preach useful behaviors.
How charming, how merciful
It would be if the reward
For defiant surrender
Shaped a universal shrug,

But it doesn't. There's a glee
That lasts surprisingly long
In saying, I can't beat you,
I won't try, I'll fall and see
If my dumb luck rescues me.
Then there's the ground, more detailed,
And no more turning aside.