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The Other Path
copyright © 2004 by H. Paul Shuch, Ph.D.

"Two paths diverged in the wood, and I..." But, hell, you know the rest,
How most folks followed Greeley down the path that headed West.
They built their high-tech empires, valleys lined with silicon,
And wrought from them the fortunes that their futures rested on
While I, the aging technocrat, had wrestled with the Beast
Of Industry quite long enough, and headed for the East.

Ten years before the bubble burst, I left them in the dust,
And hitched my wagon to the belt of low-tech ruin and rust.
And here, from these less traveled climes, I watched their fortunes grow,
While singing out a different song, the music soft and slow.

I'll never know the massive wealth they gained and lost in turn.
Instead I have returned to health, and here begun to learn
That what most people value, what I too had long held dear
Is motivated not by love or passion, but by fear.

The fear of having less is just depriving them of more,
And those who build the castles each day close another door.
While I, who chose the other path, have nothing much to lose,
And everything to gain, from simply knowing how to choose.

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this page last updated 14 June 2007
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