November 7, 2017

The Clock

You see the same people pacing the halls,

Hear the same voices and lingering drawls,

Feel the same frustration at lack of calls,

Sorry, Tom, the waiting room is the hardest part.

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Kids race back and forth to vending machines.

The television sitcom's a shrill scream.

The smell of microwaved food's obscene.

Sorry, Tom, the waiting room is the hardest part.

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When will the doc appear?

When will I finally hear

About what happened back there?

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The stomach grumbles but you couldn't eat.

The room's so cold, can't they turn up the heat?

Good Lord, I am fucking tired of this seat,

Sorry, Tom, the waiting room is the hardest part.

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The Negotiation

I served because no one else would

Or because everyone else already had.

Listened to the abuse, stood accused,

Of using everyone's dues,

To take an exotic cruise.

When they had their chance to choose,

"Once again, we choose you."

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I served because it is what I should do

Or because I didn't know what else to do.

A competitor's syllabus lay

On the xerox machine tray,

A member's name displayed

And yet I had to fight for him to stay

Because ethical lapses are legalized away.

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I served because I was smart enough to know,

Or because I wasn't smart enough to say no.

A simple re-opening clause,

A moment of lengthy pause,

The boss convinced it gave equal cause,

But I knew my fellows' cowardly flaws,

That a walk-out was not in the cards.

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In the end we played an endless game,

Giving no inch, expecting the same.

Equally ready to assign the other the blame

While the best interests of others went up in flames.

In the end, I represented a group so lame.

I gladly would have stepped aside,

But I swore because no one else would.

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The Discovery

Imagine my horror

To discover the barrier

Between home and career

No more than veneer.

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When I hear my kid's words

Sounding like others' dischord,

I realize that my two worlds

Are crumbling inwards.

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In a despicable act

I lashed out and react

At the one who in fact

Has been able to distract.

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I can't imagine it's easy

For him to live freely

When times get queasy

As his Dad pursues treaty.