They said if we broke the new rules
We would be sued.
We would have no backing.
And no one to blame but ourselves.

The boss tells us every year,
Before he jets off with his family for the month,
That we are the beating heart of the school.
He laments that there is no money for raises.

We’re supposed to do what we do
For passion and praise. It’s uncouth
For any of us to expect to be paid
For training the next generation of troops.

When Paul’s heart failed,
And they cleaned out his office,
They were glad to be rid of
His grandfathered retirement pay.

We’re a family, they say;
The kind with a narcissistic grandmother.
We’re all helping her maintain the belief:
We would be nothing without her.