First to worst
Such a surprise
How to explain
That rapid demise
What you’ve done
To the enterprise
The founders wouldn’t
Recognize
I have no doubt
That in their eyes
What you’ve done
They would despise
So sad to watch
With my own eyes
Still I’ll get to leave
On my own terms
While others remain
To feed the worms
Of rot and ruin
That inward burn
Things certainly change
They don’t stay the same
But it’s a damn sad shame
When greed is to blame
Combined with ambition
Leading only to pain
When bosses command
What they don’t understand
And the rest are left
To bear the load
Beware my friends
It’s about to implode
A family business
Passed down to the kids
Flourished and grew
As few ever did
Brought innovation
Best in every class
Quality minded
The work such a blast
Energized and engaged
Vibrant and alive
In a culture like that
Most everything thrives
Then in a flash
It collapsed with a crash
In a manner of which
Mister Musk would be proud
The grandchildren burned
It all down to the ground
Pressures without
And rot within
Be certain my friends
This is where it all ends
How you may view it
I suppose would depend
On whether you stand
With those profits in hand
Or lie in the ashes
Beaten down by demands
Blood from a stone
Extracted by force
Wrung out and hung out
Cut down in the course
Of profit extraction
And excess of greed
Run into the ground
At maximum speed
They always need more
When more’s what they need
One thing is so certain
For those in the know
The grandparents never
Would have failed us all so
They’d built something up
Of which all could be proud
Both worthy and fun
So rare to be found
Improving lives
Creating together
All now lies in ruins
Regardless of whether
The backs on which
Those dreams were fulfilled
Lie bloodied and broken
Consumed to the hilt
While the family lies back
Their billions in hand
With lives so empty
And fortune so grand
The wreckage they left
Pushed off to the side
Abandoned the people
Who’d brought it to life
No longer remembered
No not brought to mind
Just kicked to the curb
And left in a bind
To bear the destruction
The kids left behind
After milking the cash cow
And draining the well
Leaving their friends
With nothing but hell
And a few good stories
That ring hollow to tell
Of the time before
When all was so well
Before the dust
And ashes fell
D. Gee, July 2023
(a prediction based on my current observations)
As of April 2024, the prescience of this poem is sadly apparent to an extent I could not have imagined. Quite disappointing and sad.
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 6:9–10a
Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life. — 1 Timothy 6:17–19
I share this poem in honor of many talented people who have recently been abandoned and cast aside abruptly and largely against their will (certainly contrary to their preferred timing) by the very family that has been enriched massively by their labors simply to allow them to greedily grasp after even more riches. Super sad. Super disappointing.
But I am extremely proud to have worked alongside of such brilliant, passionate, and committed individuals and to have contributed to building something together of which we all could be proud and which ultimately improved the lives of more people in more significant ways than we could ever have imagined when we began the journey together. This is to them and to a beautiful collective endeavor that has passed now from existence and is already fading from view, soon to only be recalled as a memory of lost things of special meaning.
It appears to me that a spoiled little boy grew up to become an arrogant and spoiled little man, to the detriment of an otherwise admirable family legacy that now lies in dust and ashes.