I sat there clean shaven, fresh suit and new tie
Disdaining to look at the wretch seated opposite me
Not thinking to ask why

He shook as he spoke
In a language I could barely understand
His voice quavering
Like an elongated rubber band

Haggard and wrinkled
Smelling of booze
He measured his words
He’d polished his shoes

In the bright windowless office
I would take my stand
Defend my actions
And beat down the old man

He’d worked for the company for many a year
Probably as long as I’d been alive
His retirement drew near

His wife had left him
He’d lost his eldest child
He turned to the bottle
He’d been in the wild

He was fired without notice
With nothing to show
In spite of years of loyal service
With nowhere to go

Fresh out of law school it being my job
To attend the hearing that day
To steal and to rob

The discharge was warranted I had proclaimed
He was warned countless times
It was he who deserved the blame

He’d come to work drunken one too many times
His actions endangered his co-workers
We could not ignore the signs

The old man admitted he’d stopped taking his meds
A drug meant to stop his drinking
To control his feeble head

The old man sat still
In the quietest of voices
He admitted that he’d been wrong
That he’d made some bad choices

His fate was sealed while I sat there
Adjusting my tie
I was the VP of Human Resources after all
Who knew better than I?

The old man defeated
Now looking even worse
He pointed his finger at me
And uttered this curse

“Only God knows the truth –
And God judges us all,
Watch yourself young man
Because you too will fall!”

And so he left in a rage
I’d had them convinced
He stormed out of the office
I’ve not seen him since

I looked at the chair where the old man had been seated
It was soaked with fresh urine
My foe was defeated

It was my job
Which I discharged faithfully that day
But I think the old man was right
In what he had to say

I hope that God does not judge me
As harshly as I do myself
That the old man forgives me
So I can put this file on the shelf

It happened long ago
But the passage of the years
Has done nothing to quiet the sound
Of his curse ringing in my ears

Of these events I’ve never really spoken
I will never forget the urine soaked chair,
The old man’s curse,
And that…

He was already broken

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1v_nZEljINg