Pokeberry, chokeberry
Grind that grist
Blood from stone
The miser’s fist
Spoiled boy
Puffed up man
Spins the wheel
Because he can
To prove somehow
He’s something grand
As souls are ground
Beneath his hand
Pokeberry, chokeberry
Billions fold
Never enough
So I’ve been told
The wheel it spins
The stone it grinds
No peace or joy
The miller finds
Yet in his hand
Such faithful folk
Are ground to dust
On dust they choke
Pokeberry, chokeberry
Poison seed
Toxic brew
Of pride and greed
Grind it down
Then stir it up
Noxious extract
Inedible stuff
Forcing others
To drink it up
Leaving behind
Just an empty cup
Pokeberry, chokeberry
Rule by fear
Granddad would disown you
If he were still here
You’ve taken something special
He envisioned and built
Sucked out its soul
Its spirit you’ve killed
Too far gone
No turning back
Your ego cannot make up for
The leadership you lack
Pokeberry, chokeberry
Ash and bone
All that remain
Of what we had grown
What fire could purify
What blood atone
For such callous disregard
And such a heart of stone
If they had ever told me
I’d not have believed
All that has happened
What I have lived to see
Friends and associates
Together now we grieve
The carnage and dismemberment
Wrought by pride and greed
Pokeberry, chokeberry
Not sure if you’re to blame
Regardless of the reason
The result is still the same
Jobs lost, lives displaced
To buy a man some fame
The price is far too high
For he who has no name
The puppeteer in power
Pulling on his strings
Just because he can
Among other heartless things
Pokeberry, chokeberry
Grind that grist
Bleed that stone
Twist and twist
Stomp and crush
And pound that fist
Wring it all dry
As you insist
One day I pray
You’ll receive your due
For the lives you’ve harmed
By the things you do
D. Gee, December 2023
A stone-cold and uncertain holiday season looms for far too many friends and neighbors. Completely unnecessary. Completely uncalled for. Without warning. Without mercy. Without compassion. Carefully planned and ruthlessly wrong.
In a literal sense “grist for the mill” is not a negative thing. However, when the mill is metaphorical and the grist represents human beings, that’s a whole different story. I imagine that working for Elon Musk might feel like being “grist for the mill” in this latter sense, which is why I would never want to work for the man. Similar for anyone running a company or enterprise in a Musk-like manner, particularly for one that was originally founded on principles that recognized and enshrined the core truth that the ultimate value and worth of any business or enterprise is found in its people. This is both a tribute to, and a lament for, a special place and many exceptionally talented people, both of which have been badly wronged in service of ego and greed.
Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless. — Ecclesiastes 5:10
Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. — 1 Timothy 6:9–10
There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. The time came when the beggar died, and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So, he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’ But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’ He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’ Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’ ‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’ — Luke 16:19–31