Reading you is like staring through a prism
You’re among the more complex organisms
Not exactly a compliment but I cannot deny
Not black or white, just old school tie dye
I often heard, conform and be one of the squares
Eat your vegetables and say your evening prayers
Do your homework and don’t stay out late
You’ll climb the company ladder, it is your fate
Stop bucking the system and obey the rules
Save your battles for the boardroom duels
Dump those crazy ideas that will never fly
So with one eye closed I said I’d try
Your attitude needs a major overhaul
If you want to fit in, learn to play ball
If you can’t hear the message I’ll amplify
Take our feedback and start to comply
The world needs MBAs not an idealist
Dog eat dog, learn to be a realist
If you want a career you’d better begin
Grow up and shed that utopian skin
Stay focused and don’t stray too far
It’s very simple, you’ll become a star
Keep in line and keep chasing paychecks
The path to the corner office is not complex
There’s more than one successful road
Just be sure it leads to the mother load
The years will pass and you can retire
Hopefully it arrives before you expire
The moral of the story is pursue what you desire
Grab all you want or more than you require
No one is looking it’s really up to you
You’ll only be judged on what you accrue
Every morning you stare into the mirror
Clean the glass so your vision is clearer
Be humble and content with what you’ve become
Give yourself credit for what you’ve overcome
Through the prism light becomes a rainbow
Cascading colors moving in a slideshow
Yellow becomes red, green turns blue
Time brings meaning closer into view
Some people are clear even though distant
Defying gravity they remain resistant
Like an astronaut not tethered to the ship
Spinning erratic in orbit with nothing to grip
We are only visitors so enjoy this place
Here today and then gone without a trace
Spend your time growing your personal wealth
Or making life better for the community’s health
Wisdom is earned by each anvil strike
The truth is forged in every iron spike
What’s left is cold, hard and unsentimental
Giving it warmth and usefulness is monumental
There’s no magic or enlightened discovery
Just turning missteps into successful recovery
We get a lot of chances with each day’s light
Sometimes wrong but striving towards right
In the twilight I can still be obtuse
Not without reason that’s my excuse
I rarely saw value in following the rule
It got me in trouble with teachers at school
You could have been a Rotary Club leader
But I hit the gas and became a speeder
Stepped out of line and picked my own road
Finding yourself is like breaking the code
Take my lessons with a grain of sand
Life takes sudden turns we never planned
Challenge burns away what won’t endure
And life strips away what isn’t mature
It’s not easy to reflect in one’s own past light
The lens brightens the wrong more than the right
If the sun rises you get another chance
Treat it like the first day of a lovely romance