I'm eighteen and I'm naked.
I don't know what to do.
I speak to other people
And I tell them that I'm new.

I join a Guild and say hello
I don't know what else to do.
They kindly quote some scrolls to read
I think there's twenty two.

So I read the scrolls and they train me
At last I know what to do.
Then a baby rat bites off my head
And I'm back to feeling blue.

I've been a Novice for some time
I know my way around.
But I don't know what a haiku is
And inspiration can't be found.

Well, now I am a probate.
On the Novices I look down,
But there's even more work to be done
And my Path Head wears a frown.

I've submitted all my work.
At last I'm off probation.
I ask to be a Novice Aide,
In a fit of misplaced elation.

I'm swamped with Novice questions
No time off and no pay
And I envy the Secretaries
Who drink and fish all day.

Then suddenly, my chance is here
A Secretarial Post is mine.
And now I know what work is;
Why I need to fish and drink wine.

I'm a shadow of my former self
My eyes are ringed and red.
At last I announce my retirement
And I can spend all my mornings in bed.

PS. I'm at age 8, currently...









Penned by my hand on the 19th of Lupar, in the year 389 AF.