It wants me with it every moment,
takes as much time as I will give it;
and mopes when I am missing.
If I linger over lunch,
sipping steaming soup, slowly…
Carol, office manager, corporation incarnate,
will speak sternly.
Carol cajoles:
Can’t I understand how much the corporation cares?
Do I deliberately cause distress?
Carol attempts coercion:
My behavior is cause for concern.
If I am not more careful, the corporation
will be forced to *let me go*.
Cowardly corporation!
Say the words, admit that it is *you* leaving *me*,
rather than the other way around.
My corporation is a jealous lover.
Would it not be better to loosen the ties, my darling?
Would you really be so hurt, if I were to come see you at eleven,
instead of nine?
I would stay longer, lingering with you.
Even *if* I left early, while with you,
my thoughts would be entirely of you,
concentrated, focused on your desires, your needs…
the short moments are the sweetest.
And what if I *were* to think of another, would that be so wrong?
If I wondered what it would be like
to spend a few hours in the hallways of another corporation —
if I even acted on my desires, at night perhaps,
in the cool dusk, under the moonlight.
A brief foray into another’s documents, articles, spreadsheets…
would only leave me refreshed, eager to return to you;
you would look all the better for the contrast.
But no — you will not trust my judgement,
demand all of my attention, adoration —
oh, my dear…how can I tell you this?
You will never fulfill *all* of my desires.
My corporation is a jealous lover,
and I fear I cannot stay with it for long…
*****
6/12/1998