Ode to the Unemployed

How well were we trained to recite rote lines in school,
How much do we seek unblemished records,
The times when we thought for ourselves were few,
And now we wait for an opportunity to keep our worthiness alive.

If I could invent a new life for myself -
Gutsy, inspirational, a 24-hour self-starter -
I'd give back to those who gave to me a definition of self
Found in work procedures, company policies and paychecks.

My vision's too far off to feed the masses now,
My dream of a solar system economic/political base not ready for primetime;
Where are the intermediate steps that profit us,
When will the dreamers step forward to keep the dream alive?

I am no poet...
An amateur thinker,
Knowing that legal routes and black market bargains
Drive our drive to break the gravitational pull of a shrinking planet.

I envision a future close by
Made of this moment and others like it,
We'll figure out symbiotic relationships start with us
And carry bacterial buddies to new homes.

Robots will be the next pioneers,
Risking no conscious lives sacrificing faulty electromechanics,
Blazing a trail for the first wave of settlers
Who'll redefine our species in new ecosystems.