It is a bent and wizened man,
And he stoppeth one of three.
"By thy air", said I, "Thou wert a Pharmacy hand,
Now wherefore stopp'st thou me?"
"The banquet hall awaits anon,
My presence required within;
The festivities have commenced:
Thou hear'st the merry din"
He held me tight with skeletal hand,
I have a sad tale, quoth he.
"Unhand, release me, thou crazy coot!"
With a glance he silenced me.
I stood as if been turned to stone,
And could not chuse but listen;
And thus spoke on that ancient man,
As in his eyes tears glistened.
A fair department there was once,
In which most things were well,
'Till poor decisions re cabinets and such,
Began to be made pell mell.
But I should'st not jump too far ahead,
In recounting my woeful tale,
Lest in doing so I may'st cause,
Your understanding to fail.
The captain ever a time had once,
Upon her officers relied,
And wisely delegated to them the main tasks,
While keeping them with resources supplied.
Coordinating activities, making sure the tasks,
In timely fashion were done,
Keeping officers informed - while keeping out of their way,
Thus was this department run.
As a stately ship, when by the master wisely conned,
The department on course the 'multuous seas did sail,
Prevailing even if adverse winds did blast,
Ever successfully reaching port without fail.
Perhaps the very success carried the seeds,
That soon'd choke the flower bed.
'Haps as oft when drinking fine wines,
The fumes went to her head.
Though with success you might suppose
With this formula they would stay.
Alas! Had it been so you'd not be here
To hear my sad tale this day.
Without much thought did the captain decree
That new, untested cabinets be procured
And installed and tested on one side
The tried and true on the other were ignored.
The 'test' cabinets in a corner lay
For several months gathering dust
'Till sudden an emergency called
Immediate deployment was a must!
Barely in and with problems many
Much functionality was still wonted
Amazingly the 'test' was one no longer
And a success the 'test' was annointed
Thrice ninety days had flown by,
All the first units were in place,
And more were being sought,
Tho' development kept not apace.
Cabinets, cabinets, everywhere,
Yet manual billing still needs be done,
Cabinets, cabinets, everywhere,
Interfaces there were none.
Also came changes to the officer corps
In secret a new officer annointed,
And after going through the motions,
To a new position was appointed.
Only responsible for two of the crew,
A banker must have been born to be,
Because only on certain week days
He was present from nine 'till three.
"The crew 'sponsibility for own systems must take,
Bridge officer meetings I'll also ignore,"
Quoth he, "I'm far too busy to do it all,
And besides, they are a bore!"
Later another one of the officer corps,
Was forced to walk the plank,
Leaving half the original crew, without
Representation in the officer ranks.
In the mean time the clime had changed,
And ever now the wind did blast.
It also grew wondrous cold,
Stressing the ice-bedecked mast.
No longer were there sunny days,
And were the rations short,
And fewer of the crew there were,
To bring the ship home to port.
The captain's skills that in the past,
Had worked in better clime,
Did not prove to be the ones,
Needed for these more difficult times.
Sheets of ice there were, here and there,
They lay the ship around.
It cracked and roared, and howled and growled,
Like noises in a swound!
Though now a facility for numbers,
Was required to steer the course,
To the captain they seemed to be
As foreign as was morse..
And tho' to achieve success now required,
Working with others outside the crew,
To deal with these, such as physicians, the captain
Appear'd to know not what to do.
To save resources, now was wonted,
Above all else, clinical interventions,
Yet the captain of this knew naught,
Despite her best intentions!
A new officer urgently was needed,
These members of the crew to guide and mind,
The captain seemed not this to 'stand,
And a candidate was unable to find.
And had the crew spend much time in meetings,
Of an alphabet soup of groups she made,
Though how this was to be translated,
Into real results, she never sayed.
On top of all these huge changes,
In the conditions they worked under,
The captain began to change her style,
And caused the group to break asunder.
Where before what was best she did wisely
Chuse, now political games were played,
That oft seem'd more than other factors,
To 'fluence how her decisions were made.
And where before the officers did count,
On the captain telling what she would do,
And what was happening on board the ship,
No longer was this true.
Some were told more, some listened to,
Some ignored, some told less,
All lied to upon occasion,
Increasing the officers' stress.
This ship of beauty and of state,
Now floateth battered and worn,
And none do feel confident,
That they know what bringeth the morn.
Errors made by the crew, the captain decrees
Will now result in sanction,
However, the crew is not to consider,
This as disciplinary action.
As wanderers on a lonesome road,
The crew doth walk in fear and dread,
Without looking back they move on,
And dos't not turn their head,
Because they fear a frightful Fiend
Doth close behind them tread.
This sad story I am forced by fate to tell,
My heart within me as if in fire burns,
Until my ghastly tale is told,
And a measure of peace returns.
I wander, like night, from land to land;
I have no power of speech;
'Till Fate points out to me some man,
To whom my tale to teach.
The ancient man, with eyes so bright,
With beard frosted by age with hoar,
Is suddenly gone: and I am left alone,
Beside the auditorium door.
From thence went I in a state of shock,
Filled with a sense forlorn,
A sadder and a wiser man,
I rose the morrow morn.
SNi 06/01/00