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Generations work hard
Good honest labor
Sweat of brow; no idle hands
Backbone of society.
Live in walkups
Brownstones in the city
Sturdy wooden houses in the country;
Neighborhoods or communities.

But when my friend does this
His professor father is disappointed,
As are his brothers—
As am I.
He has dropped out
Should finish school
(Though I've long argued college is over-emphasized,
Forced upon those who should not go
Turned into job training
For too many a party house
A place to teach what the high schools failed to).
Am I that much of a snob
(Or worse a bigot)
To think my friend should not be like those others.

I'd like to think the disappointment is because
He's abandoned dreams
Left plans to go a different way.
Everyone has dreams, the rich,
The poor, even the middle class;
It is sad to settle for mediocrity
And lose sight of your unique contribution to society.
But by this standard all have failed
(I am most disappointed in myself)
No matter what we do, we could do more.
We are all born to dreams
And grow up to nightmares.
We are not happy without ambition
And are miserable with it.
We cannot live without sleep
We cannot sleep without dreams
We cannot dream without awakening
      to harsh reality.

Morning Smile Portraits A moment of Silence