CONFERENCE CALL
drowsy crows...
we huddle by the squawking
speaker phone
the self grows
distant...writing haiku
through the meeting
each manager
'struts and frets his hour
upon the stage'
through the window
we watch the seagulls...
someone sighs
cooing pigeons:
heads together, the guys
in the back row
my neighbor nods,
starts to snore again -
one more nudge!
craning my neck
to see the doodles in
my friend's notebook
warm spring sun
floods the office - I dream of
Clearwater Beach
bumblebees...
through my day dreams
the speaker's voice
a chair squeaks -
meeting my partner's eyes
not quite asleep
heads swing
from clock to watch to clock...
hands are still
'and in conclusion' -
heads pop up,
one stifled yawn
listening
to voice after voice...
a loose button!
the boss speaks -
feeling my empty
wallet
his hands clenched
his face grown purple -
we talk on
after lunch break
voices seem to fade...
piles of paper
memos lists and graphs -
our sacrifice?
one beeper -
eighty pairs of eyes
leave the speaker
wow 'em with
multimedia...
take a spare bulb
pat answer
for every question -
his smug smile
for once,
speaker has no answer...
traded sneers
Copyright © 1996 James T. Mullins
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