"The gullible ruck

Ruled by necessity;

The whimsical mob

Ever changing its demands-

O, I'm so sick of it!"

"Customers never satisfied,

Merchants on edge to cheat,

Cheap competitors ready to steal-

O, I'm so sick of it!"

"So-called fellow scientists,

The worst, mean, grudging bunch;

Ever critical, if not destructive-

O, I'm so sick of it!"

"I am a genius unknown,

Unrecognized by fellows,

Pestered by neighbors and the tax man-

O, I'm so sick of it!"

The lab man downed the liquor.

Unsteadily he rose,

Upset the nitrate:

An unearthly scream in a cellar . . .

<chris bouter>

<6 September 2005>

<negative complaint instead of positive resignation>