To lying, but the hard question is when to tell.
When does he tell the firm that's advertised
For an opening in their bookkeeping department
That he spent the last three years of his life
In prison for embezzlement? On the application,
In the box marked "prior experience,"
Or after they call him in for a second interview,
Or after ten years when he's worked his way up
To be vice president? It's a lie to hide it, he agrees,
But it only mirrors their lie that an honest answer
Won't reduce his chances of being hired to zero.
The important truth is one he can't prove:
That he's determined not to repeat his crime
Here in a country famous for second chances.
He loves the truth, but haven't the people
Who'll conduct the interview ever hidden
Part of the truth when they applied for an opening?
Chances are that a few were silent about being fired
From a prior job in sales for making promises
That stretched the fabric of truthfulness till it tore.
Chances are that a few, when asked to go into detail
On their theory of marketing, withheld the truth
Of their long flirtation with the doctrine that bluffing
Had built the country, the brag of brochures
That depicted a swamp in the wilderness as a bustling town,
They want to forget their past, but he is resolved
To remember his and so be more forgiving
When he's responsible for enforcing the rules.
Any new hires of his that cross the line
Between operating within the law and just outside it
Will be given a warning. And then, if they're fired,
He won't take them to court unless he's sure
The judge will err on the side of clemency. Not three years
Behind bars but one year of community service,
Including helping out at the library
With processing all the books that turn up
By the carload during Forgiveness Week
When decades of fines are set aside.
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