You, the Outcomes, and We, Your Secretaries

Without weighing in
On relative weights
Of material

Goods, good fortune, genes,
And social networks,
We may fairly say

You are the outcomes
Of a tangled mess
Of opportunities

For your ancestors
Not enjoyed by those
More numerous souls

Without descendants
Among you living.
Whether you, too, prove

Able to profit
From inherited
Runs of lucky lives,

We don’t really care.
We’re here to record
The minutes and dream

Of one day winning
Lives for ourselves, lives
We’ll wield for ourselves.

In the meantime, here
You go. You can read
Us as your own words.