Self-Made Man Poem by Raj Dronamraju

Personal biography is meaningless in application
Personal biography is too small a tent to cover the assembled crowd
I have done this, look at my bank account
I have done this, where do I come for?

I come from a single parent home
The power turned off, ketchup and bread sandwiches
I make my intensity grim to match where I came from
I don't see what morals have to do with any of this

I am the pioneer spirit, deprive myself and I'll mess with you like a robbery in broad daylight
You are not a man until you have suffered
Until you have talked about your suffering having come out at the other end

Ours is the myth we share with schoolchildren
What about your parents' bank account? I did this by myself
We embrace the image of an unreal hero
We express disappointment with ourselves when we fail to emulate this