Richard Schnap- A Poem

DEATH BEFORE DISGRACE

There is but one truly philosophical problem
And that is suicide.
                                                     -Albert Camus

He was raised in a house of propriety
Where the furniture was sealed in plastic
To preserve its unblemished state.

So it was with his iron-bound duty
To become a professional who never erred
Someone who was always “doing well”.

But then one day his boss declared
He was unfit for his job and was let go
Like a soldier with a dishonorable discharge.

And it was the fate of his youngest son
To find him in the bathtub covered with blood
His final act performed to perfection.