Through no fault of my own I have seen
the blueprint of my next 40 years
unfolded in the presentation of a defense contractor
too proud of his work to keep it secret

I met Steve while waiting to board a plane to Atlanta
he was making his work “O-6-able”… tech talk for writing
in a language that Full Colonels would be able to understand
a concept I have been familiar with my whole life

he was a journalist caught in a scientist’s body
my polar opposite and my mirror image in one ephemeral soul
living life on the Mexican border… a mercenary, a paragon
finding and manipulating information for strategic consumption

he retired five years ago and moved on to places more within his calling
driven to find a natural conclusion to a lingering question he had his entire career
secretly I am jealous that he has that opportunity and equally so
that he reads The Economist, like me… for I relish that bit of my own arrogance

an hour later after reading part of a book on Christianity
my Bloody Mary suffering from not enough spice and too much ice
I watch the clouds break up somewhere over Alabama
and think that there has been a lot of carnage this year… none of which I am proud of.

12/09/2007

Author's Note: Atlanta. The Ellis. 12/09/07

Posted on 12/09/2007
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