SCAFFOLD

My first blunder was to believe the lie.

Then I put my faith in false promises

And acted as though I was insane,

Doing the same things over and over again

And expecting their forecasts to comply.

I pushed and pulled and lifted and strained,

My heart and head and shoulders stooped

And my focus so singleminded

That I could be seen as blinded,

So I did not know that I was chained.

The blood that I gave was spilled with good will

And that makes me even more bitter.

When they wanted someone to blame

I did not expect the wave of shame

As they lumped me with the corporate swill.

My efforts and dedication made people rich

Yet I did not feel exploited by them.

I always thought my rewards would come

And trusted too much in those who were scum

For none tried to rescue me from Satan’s ditch.

Almost four decades without a blemish or error,

Utmost application and diligence.

But I missed one criminal’s scheme,

Though I never joined his larcenous team,

And then the pretenders unleashed the terror.

The gallows to which I am nailed have me baffled,

Dissembled rather than assembled by the fears

Of those who never make their own mistakes

And never rise beyond the status of fakes.

Only death can save me from my scaffold.