Rowing Upstream [rev] Poem by Margaret Alice Second

Reached the plateau in the translation-dimension
where grass is sparse; things are dire in Registry,
beauty is lacking, no music at all: aha! dig up iPod
& earphones necessary for contentment - looking
up cost of manufacturing, sick pay - all deducted
from income - my zeal’s left me, the vigour & vim

Of a make-a-good-impression beginning has gone,
only Desperation’s left, Sweet Lady Resignation is
nowhere to be seen, Lady Wisdom is invisible and
no email reaches me in Registry, losing confidence
in my ability to keep rowing upstream against the
current of joy & adventure

That keeps flowing down, making me fight against
the desire for excitement which is drowning in this
avalanche of single terms and short sentences -
Trade-and-Industry’s need to analyse business in
all it’s glorious details fails to ignite any fire in me,
drinking endless cups of coffee interspersed by

Conversations about dogs: where’s Hope when
we need her, where’s Forbearance - as well as
Temperance; yes, to keep me from overindulging
in sugar-sweet coffee and self-pity, giving in to the
feeling of boredom which changes life into a cross
the mind has to pull without respite; my memory

Does not retain the meaning of a single trade-term
and everything has to be looked up over and again,
I feel so useless while dealing with cost-effective
process and purchasing value, there is no end on
the horizon and I trudge all slower - no getting hurt
so as to report excitement of pain and sacrifice

Let me make another cup of coffee and smile for
my colleagues, my only weapon - wearing a mask
that reveals nothing of the unwilling little alien that
lies gagged in my head, and where he’ll stay until
this document is done otherwise he’ll interfere and
make me powerless against the tide as I keep

Rowing upstream…