Memo Re: Writing Memos

Demands on my time are moneyed and various;
Budgets are burgeoning, time lines are tight;
We shall see, we shall see, we shall see, we shall see;
Why can I no longer sleep in the night?


Tossing in bed with the clock ticking noisily
Bound up in spreadsheets I stare 'till first light
Asking for answers of some absent analyst--
Why can I no longer sleep in the night?


Now and again in accounts of the company,
Figures will jig and will not tally right,
The horror of ink setting dry yet not balancing;
Why can I no longer sleep in the night?


I hear it at times in the din of the stock exchange;
Some lonely warrior, hoarse from the fight,
Hoping and fearing that someone will hear him cry
Why can I no longer sleep in the night?


God only knows what's the final Gantt diagram;
Critical paths ever fade out to white;
Building our high-rise investments in Babylon;
Sleeping through days, and waking through nights.


They lied when they said they were schooling for leadership;
Lied when they said we could win in this fight;
Lied when they promised the whole world would satisfy;
I hope to high heaven they don't sleep at night.

- Stephen K. Roney