I've lived in 1987 for the past two months,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLLjc1ECc3z
Every waking moment and in my every dream,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFNohYMPcia
When sleep would finally come called by exhaustion,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU2s9UiNz5M
As is still the case although the work is now done.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHSYS2UttC1
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡerEPBkLHXp
Idealistic young lawyer,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsudmFRzF4a
In his first posting as a dean,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwZ1sD8oMiv
In a for-profit business school,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡajOyqNOJvn
Naive voice crying in the wilderness.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl5qHKKf8DE
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡClwN8qotce
Worked very long hours,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8OP1znfqID
To change what was wrong,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ49Xq2rGPus
Achieved great success,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM72StFmMoo
Which all came to naught.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaOZxiZMKwa
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3tpSEBIeKI
Made friends while tilting at windmills,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOsPdyuqejL
Stubbornly refusing to accept,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0pND4Kmu3r
That which could be changed through simple hard work,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDVG5oBMIvc
That I believed would make real difference in others' lives.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjg7K2qF1CS
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkk2STy4LOk
A classic clash of missions and visions,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcxV1DvTqXo
Provides the factual drama--theirs, to maximize profits,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0kIKmHuuKp
And deliver an education at the lowest possible cost,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCfBaNunpSY
Mine to be in the business of changing lives for the better.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzXo8kvtzAe
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZxvM5nuTCx
I implemented meaningful changes,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSrtrf2bSMR
That brought unintended consequences,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGAIefO2BG0
I found unacceptable, and personal conflicts,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNdyyFwC6ip
That caused me to resign while still on excellent terms.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAglcDM0gue
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡobBrITjZhs
And I learned critical lessons,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡspRi09Q7Zq
Not just about an industry I did not know,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGwI4JuT9HI
But about myself, my strengths and my weaknesses,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvtymjvMRK4
And about love that brought joy and pain that I can still feel.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE92xjk0tMq
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ96W5Sqaec5
I wrote through the night, composed at the keyboard,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5wIJl88mBZ
Sleeping only a few hours when my vision blurred,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQCjwzOt8wM
And I could not focus any more around 8:00 - 10:00 a.m.,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi8aBSBSYj2
Then back to my keyboard and my previous life.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGDP59iVUnB
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfhCeDlYoEQ
Ghosts long thought buried rose, warm flesh and blood,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqkasfAx0nj
Old battles fought anew, old brown paths grew verdant,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgo6lF5Qr8o
Cold cinders rekindled, closed doors opened wide,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmp7RUnYfJp
Beckoned me to live for a time in what might have been.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr1WlcM7r6f
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5hTqah9FcJ
Scars long ago faded opened up anew,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeZhcStu0K8
The heart cried tears of blood, and fiction,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9gFsJVliAK
Much too close to truth flowed onto the page,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxRj7huzWqK
Chasing sleep away long after the writing was done.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEue41gMq4w
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCOhAaeaJXl
After two decades of gestation,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡREo9s5KuH5
I've now given birth to my first child,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn3UbGuijoC
The afterbirth has been cleaned,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0JAZ7u9RuV
She is all pink, warm, and oh so cuddly.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCAJmojPhCT
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Bd1dGZS4h
I fell in love with her the moment18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBgmEBWvPCX
I stared into her huge, bright, old-soul eyes18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEnk8Ho3elR
Her strong, tiny hand is now wrapped18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg6SKqJacfB
Around all of my heart strings and will be for life.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvjh0H3cJro
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqOp4kuiu4u
Now I'm searching for a literary agent18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0IBVdKc6T0
Sending tiny snapshots of my little girl18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkEDbFw03bU
Hoping they will love her18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrDuRNqJ00p
But knowing they may not.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjwLjZ1cA5R
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkHvaD7IlzH
If I can't send her off to finishing school,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGyuDC8s6gp
I will home school her, teach her all I know,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDTWNmj7h9L
And ready her as best I can to face the world,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsU5I7UVLWy
Where she may not thrive but will always have my love.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOloKELicgs
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkU3jm0K20j
If all goes well, I will give her a sister to play with,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzmDsJj2AxS
In a year or so if life will allow it,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS0r0xxxNjW
My heart is large and still has room,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwTWBPxYrNr
For more wounds to open that only they can heal.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwNcUyUy4Y2
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8iU1ZhwkUg
You can hear me read this poem in my newest poetry reading (of just this poem) here: