Career Moves

The poet, dressed in bermudas, refuses cash and suit

Tall and thin
She lets me in
To the office
Where her boss is
Short and fat,
Waiting patiently
For me. She takes my hat.

He's looking at the
Window pane
And my reflection
In it.
Imitating silence.
Intimating guidance.
He ushers me a seat,
Turning with his feet,
His belly is replete,
His grin is wide and
Not discreet.

He offers me promotion
In return for devotion;
Cash in exchange for panache;
A cheque for my respect;
A company tie
For a little white lie.
And I decline,
Saying that I'm too young
To die.

Poem Study Notes:

This poem was written in 1997, just before the poet resigned from a corporate office job, intending to write books or at least live an artist's life in some yet-to-be-defined form.

His 'noble intentions' did not last very long. A few weeks later he was back in the very same office, working as a mercenary (arguably a lesser form of 'selling-out').

As for the books ... many were started, none were finished.