You and I, both clutch at hope
Our companion in desperate days
Our ruinous future now bespoke
By others ill and wayward ways

And to think we placed our faith
On monuments of steel and glass
Strutting peacocks, now a wraith
Their promises not come to pass

Savings earned by honest sweat
And body pain and muscles sore
Are we know today we are bereft
Our financial future secure no more

These are savings that we earned
Away from spouse and children
Lost to speculations that burned
Is there hope for us, if so when?

The diminution of value of labor
Left us standing at this threshold
Those that were in political favor
Left the scene with parachutes of gold

Dolan Fernandes
September 2008