XXIV

The transformation of the American Dream from wide frontier
of possibilities to complacent acquisition almost killed me.

I saw Senator Joe McCarthy standing on Horatio Alger's hands
as he vied against the crowd for a simple job.

The nights grew colder to match the lack of sympathy I found,
every employment opportunity filled in the time it took to walk there.

Experience seemed a useless commodity without the paper
to back it up.  I lost hope, certain survival would pass me by.

I had shucked all accouterments of individual identity,
joined the herd, gaining nothing but the loss of self.

The ritual suicide of shaving my face & cutting away my hair
elicited no response from the gods, even less from potential bosses.

There is a nightmare reserved especially for those who reform
only to find that there is no reward, only naked condescension.

When I had all but given up completely, a minor miracle occurred.
I was given one last chance in the form of financing for school.

I took to it with a serious tenacity born of total desperation
working day & night on a unified field theory of information.