Manage Meant

Maybe no one knew till much too late what manage meant They got their chance to make this country go and away it went Leaving peasants just enough to pay their rent That's what manage meant Leadership belongs in a museum or so they said The bottom line is far more self-aware than a dream that's dead Deception must have let the short term get into its head The future was an angel; it tried to carry one away But the present is a monster that put him in his place For a moment, everything was clear: an objective to fulfill Then a supervisor schooled in such things cited "Obey instruction, suppress your skill" That's what manage meant Loyalty is your lover, rules your only poetry Consequences are for others, purpose pointless fantasy Hope a plaything for the unemployed and Good Merely a grade between Near-Great and Fair The job's to keep on swimming in a line Not complain or break for foolish air Regulations can be written and ignored but never bent Innovation might be tolerated once as long as there was no intent Creative thinking leads to mass dissent That's not what manage meant