My Corporation is a Jealous Lover

 

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