MIT Poetry

Life in the Lowlands

William Pounds

When corporations fail
              Many drown.

The Party tried with only one
              Run for the people
                     Without success.

Those who do without
              Live on higher ground
                            Eating roots and berries.
        
We who prefer the good life
              Advocate virtue,

But just in case,
             Stuff old leaks
                         With laws

Knowing the sea waits.

Professor Emeritus William Pounds has been at MIT since 1961. Along the way, he has served as Dean of the Sloan School, on several corporate boards, and as Senior Advisor to the Rockefeller Family. He currently teaches a course on corporate governance.

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