FULL MOON ON TOP OF A CHAMPAGNE PALM'S TIP

i am looking at the ribbon
on the child's right chest
pinned on his pocket,
and i remember myself
and mama
and how i worked hard
to please everyone,

the honors reaped and
the praises gathered
on the merits they said
but only for a while
soon we all wake up to an
age
where merit is useless
where politics come like
a book that we really have to
read again
to unlearn what values we
obtained
back in grade school then
when your teacher told you
that you were the best and
the ribbon you got was
one so well-deserved.