we know how the world operates:

you work hard,
you pay your dues,
you show up early and leave late,
you sacrifice your family, your values,
your self on the shrine of stress.

then,

you come along,
upsetting the applecart
we have stacked so carefully
with all our expectations,
all our assumptions,
all we have been taught

handing every single one of us
the same gift;

and you walk away,
your hands stuffed
into your empty pockets,
softly humming 'Amazing Grace'
under your breath,

as you leave us
with our jaws
scraping the ground.

(c) 2005 Thom M. Shuman