They Will Tell You How It's Going To Be

they will tell you how it's going to be.

what they expect; give you the tour.

wherever you go after that,

it will always be the same speech.

you may smile.

you are pleasant.

you want things to work well.

you want to be happy here;you think:

I can be happy here.

I'm good at sharpening pencils

keeping my desk neat.

first weeks you hum to yourself

in the mornings even when it's cold

at the bus stop, drizzling..

you're fresh as new grass in the spring.

you want to smile,

to do anything they give you to do.

then things grow dark a little

but you never get the memo somehow

until you're on the other side of the door again.

it's pleasant on the street even when you're numb

and haven't realized yet you have no income.

spring is in the air; the air is sweet.

at least for now, there's freedom.

and no speech.

mary angela douglas 20 november 2014