Upswung

The wire story from New York
asks why Americans are so glum
after five years unending growth
And I pepper my eggs, sip coffee
as the Dow breaks through 5000

It may have to do
with the source of growth
Mergers, as in closing plants
Downsizing, as in being layed off
and upswings, as in bottom line

Those in the know are in the Dow
and 5000 isn't reached with sweat
as it once was in the good old days
when a single income bought a home
and the city was a place to live

I pour another cup and ponder pension funds
It's their fuel that fires this growth
and in turn they're fueled by sweat
as our investor-self lays off our worker-self
and New York wonders why we're glum

It's strange to see America from here
among these newborn Czechs in Prague
Running after an American dream
of Michael Jackson and Big Macs
and I wish them well and wash my dishes