Machiavellian . . .

I wrote this poem years ago, when I was considerably poorer than I am now. These days, I have hung around on the periphery of civilization long enough to feel some sympathy for schmucks like me who have invested in The Way Things Are.

Machiavellian

The young can sometimes afford

to complain, but not to bribe the powerful.

To get money to bribe anybody important

you must first invest heavily

in the way things are.

Subversion therefore becomes unprofitable.

If things change, your investments

may not pay.

The young are not taught this

in the government schools:

Methods in Bribery is a unit of instruction

not covered by the new standardized tests.