False bravado gathered for the trek,
To full mast through the sluice
Feeling ingrained in the interest
Of fame and fortune in this foreign era
Full swagger over the rise,
No pirates of olden days remain,
Yet new models play their affairs
In the sordid slums of lucre
Hoping for that pot of gold
But never realizing it is found
Deep in their own souls.

Laura R
4-16-03