Wide Awake in a Field of Deadbolts By Nick Twemlow (disquiet0245) by Detritus Tabu

I was wanting to get a funky free flavor but remain slave to the beat. Ah the wonders of the workplace where we surrender so many of our hours.
Wide Awake in a Field of Deadbolts
By Nick Twemlow
Slight whiff of toner, or is it White-Out?
Brief heat of manuscript
lifted from the printer, against my face.

What is it about the new hire
that has everybody talking?
Her newness, perhaps, her éclat

cutting through
each of us, like a sword
through wet bamboo; it’s a graceful

violation. And then the water
breaks, and then a darkening
sky rolls over the lake, and then

a meeting is called to introduce her,
to make her understand,
to allow her to share in our delights!

Here is the coffee machine, there are the filters.
You may store your lunch
in the communal refrigerator, but please

remember to empty yourself,
all of you. Feel free to decorate
your cubicle with pictures, tack up a view

of the lake behind you
to remind you of the lake
behind you. Don’t listen to those of us

who are certain
of the small death
each photo you tack up represents.

Familiarity breeds
intent, intent signals purpose,
purpose is a proposition you make to those

who observe, quantify
and assess you; and use as many legal
pads as you like. And the retractable pencils,

they’re all yours. Marigolds.
Sunflowers. Black-Eyed Susans. Just keep it
yellow. Paper cuts will happen. Band-Aids

are in the top left drawer
in the kitchen,
next to the cake-cutting knife

we pull out for anniversaries, birthdays,
retirements, record days,
or the first time you see all of us converge

on the conference room, leaving you alone in your cube.
More on this 245th weekly Disquiet Junto project — “Write a piece of music for getting things done, suitable for playing on repeat” — at:

http://disquiet.com/0245/

More on the Disquiet Junto at:

http://disquiet.com/junto/

Subscribe to project announcements here:

http://tinyletter.com/disquiet-junto/

Project discussion takes place on llllllll.co:

http://llllllll.co/t/disquiet-junto-project-0243-synth-trial/4288

There’s also on a Junto Slack. Send your email address to twitter.com/disquiet for Slack inclusion.

Image associated with this project is by jurek d. and is used thanks to Flicker and a Creative Commons license:

http://flic.kr/p/npLwcU

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/