And Goodnight to You All

The year was
Nineteen fifty something
He called from a phone booth
To declare his independence
"You'll be a failure!" she shrieked
His "convenient" nervous breakdown insued
Are you a serpent?
I should think not!
Do you eat eggs?
Yes.
Then you must be a serpent!
If you call a baby boy a pig long enough
Eventually he will become just that
He told his story through Alice
For forty years it echoed
In the back of his mind
"You'll be a failure!"
And yet with teary eyes
Twenty-Five of us were silent as he said
"And goodnight to you all."