People, Like Most Automobiles

People, like most automobiles
Come in four speeds
High, low and in-between
Then, of course, the reverse
Which fill our asylums and bread lines.

Most occupy the "second" or in-between position
They are the steady, hardworking class
The solidifying element
You will find them
Exercising mental and physical capacities
On assembly lines, behind counters and desks
And digging into mechanical units.

The "low speed" type is interspersed
With the "seconds" as helpers and common laborers
They have their function
and their physical capacities
Could not be successfully dispensed with.

Such men as Willkie, Churchill, Roosevelt and Hitler
Not to mention scores of artists, writers, musicians
And other assorted famous men
Occupy high gear position
These are the "gifted"
According to popular opinion
But the truth of the matter is
They are gifted only
As the fish are gifted to swim
And the robin to fly
Their highly geared position
Demands every bit of extra power
They can muster
And if they can't produce it
They will slip past second and low
Into reverse. Hitler did.

All creation, like your Ford
Was started in low gear
Men lived in caves
And dragged their wives
By the hair of the head
Gradually as knowledge grew, speed was built up
And soon second gear took over the load
More and more speed, into
Pff / Something happened
Nero fiddled and Rome burned.
And the reverse gear dominated.

After much backward driving
Man finally got into low and started forward
And in twenty-ten are tearing along in high
With a heavier load and more rapid pace
Many gear wheel teeth have snapped off
and others are showing the terrific strain
Thrown upon them by the failure of others.