Arrived ten minutes early,
pencils, pens and paper clips,
neatly arranged on ink pad;
said the right things:
“Top drawer;”
“Can of worms;”
“Brass tacks;”
“Bag and baggage;”
“Came across my desk;”
“Burn you a copy;”
“Send it up the tube;”
“Cut you a check;”
“First thing in the morning;”
and all those evenings
we spit shined our shoes
for the run to the bus stop,
starched and ironed shirts
white collar stiff;
wove and spun ties
into perfect hangman’s knots,
shaved with aromatic lather,
neatly parted oiled hair
Late at night,
too tired for love making,
meticulously scoured
the financial pages,
stood sharp, sat straight,
snapped out answers
Had to, had to hack it,
pay the rent,
put food on the table,
play ball with the boys
Happy wife, happy life,
all that:
Meaningless now
Previous/Next/Social Justice/Home