Category Archives: poem

one worker laid off in America

before i’m asked to leave
now obsolete
i tilt my head back and see –

above in steel it
is ws g90 cs/b
it’s granular black and upside down,
it means nothing to me, this me
of a head thrown back
headache pinching one side
body thrown aside

florescent lighting ripples metal
and i start to see patterns
numbers letters – squares.
i notice the ws repeat
i see the secret messages and the meaning
is pinching my brain
stiffening my neck
but i don’t look away cause
my country relies on my ability
to dicepher the code –

yes
WS… SOFTILE CS TYPE B
MADE IN USA
O3G 132
yes! the walls fall to the side
i’m yelling to everyone
i feel their arms around me, binding tight.

“made in the USA, made in the USA, made in the USA, made in the USA, made in the USA,

are you destined for greatness (in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day)

feel that burn
that fuels insomnia till
late into the morning of a new day
you write
“it’s just this never-ending feeling
that i was put here to do more
than this, more than the desk and the
swivel chair, more than this”
feel those letters and smear ink
into your fingertips
and tomorrow, when you see it
stand up.