Google Pilgrimage Fiasco Poem by Max Reif

Drove down to Mountain View this morning
to check up on my investment
of time, and a little money
in the Google octopus.


Like a friend in a strange country,
the familiar rainbow letters
smiled from the logo
in front of the building.

Eyes sparkling,
the red-haired receptionist
in the lobby smiled, too.

'Is there a display
for the public? ' I asked,
reining in my wonder
and finding some kind of voice.

'Do you have a meeting here? '
she inquired, not quite as many
watts now in the sparkling
of her eyes.

'Is this the main lobby? ' I asked.
'Don't people come here
from all over the world? '
There had to be more than this.

'No, and if you don't
have a meeting here,
I'll have to ask you
to leave! ' said the girl.

Muttering something
about 'Do no evil',
the famous Google motto,

I pushed my way out the door,
puzzled how a bonanza company
can be so dumb about public relations.