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,
to find some kind of voice.
'Do you have a meeting here? '
she inquired, the wattage
of her eye-sparkle
going down fast.
'Is this the main lobby? '
I asked, bewildered.
'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.
I pushed my way out the door,
muttering something
about the famous Google motto,
'Do no evil',
and puzzled how
a bonanza company
can be so dumb
about public relations.
Max Reif
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/google-pilgrimage/