A softer version of Ode to a Law Student

I hope you....

I hope you are working hard in law school,
many people have contributed to your ability to get there
and many people are counting on your success.
Those groups are not the same.

I hope you continue to dream of a a better world,
many people need your vision, passion and excellence
and many people could benefit from your work
Those groups are not the same, and it is likely that those groups don't include you.

I hope you are ready to face the facts
many people are working hard to make it more difficult for you to achieve your dreams
yet many others could benefit from your work

I hope you are ready for the sacrifices of public interest law,
many times your kids will ask why they can't have the ipod of 2035
and it will sometimes be hard to pay the rent,
and getting a mortage will be impossible on your salary
and the hours will be long
and your clients may not have a shower to shower in
and your hours will be long
and you'll see your spouse less than you'd like
and you'll decide most night s to sleep and hope to dream of sex
and you'll wonder why you didn't choose to make money
and you'll curse the facts of a country that pays crooks and starves saints
and you'll curse the law school that set it's tuition high, assuming your salar will be high

I hope you are ready to do it all again tomorrow
saving the world is hard work

I hope you'll go easy on your law-school classmates
many times they worked late to make more billable hours
and they wished they were doing something they believed in
and they think about you in your apartment
and they wonder how you hold onto your values
and they wonder if they could have done more

and maybe, because of you, they'll do some volunteer legal work