Martin Hayes
the lucky ones
when our head supervisor
has nothing to do
he likes to come out into the controlroom
and terrorise the new recruits.
he likes to stand over them
and breathe down their necks
winking at us
every now and then pullling them up on a technicality
before retreating back into his office
and getting one of the telephonists
to make him a cup of coffee.
the new recruits are in a state of terror anyway
what with being thrust in front of a computer system
they’ve had only two days’ training for
but it doesn’t stop them trying
and the more they try
the more our head supervisor likes to come out
and tell them where they are going wrong.
sometimes he swings his head around
and shouts over to the rest of us
that he doesn’t think this fella
is going to make it.
which isn’t such a bad thing
considering that if he did
then he’d end up losing his fire and dignity
become a drunk
spend money he never had on coke
get bombarded with eviction notices
develop piles
and sometimes think about committing suicide
just like
the rest of us.
has nothing to do
he likes to come out into the controlroom
and terrorise the new recruits.
he likes to stand over them
and breathe down their necks
winking at us
every now and then pullling them up on a technicality
before retreating back into his office
and getting one of the telephonists
to make him a cup of coffee.
the new recruits are in a state of terror anyway
what with being thrust in front of a computer system
they’ve had only two days’ training for
but it doesn’t stop them trying
and the more they try
the more our head supervisor likes to come out
and tell them where they are going wrong.
sometimes he swings his head around
and shouts over to the rest of us
that he doesn’t think this fella
is going to make it.
which isn’t such a bad thing
considering that if he did
then he’d end up losing his fire and dignity
become a drunk
spend money he never had on coke
get bombarded with eviction notices
develop piles
and sometimes think about committing suicide
just like
the rest of us.
Page(s) 39
magazine list
- Features
- zines
- 10th Muse
- 14
- Acumen
- Agenda
- Ambit
- Angel Exhaust
- ARTEMISpoetry
- Atlas
- Blithe Spirit
- Borderlines
- Brando's hat
- Brittle Star
- Candelabrum
- Cannon's Mouth, The
- Chroma
- Coffee House, The
- Dream Catcher
- Equinox
- Erbacce
- Fabric
- Fire
- Floating Bear, The
- French Literary Review, The
- Frogmore Papers, The
- Global Tapestry
- Grosseteste Review
- Homeless Diamonds
- Interpreter's House, The
- Iota
- Journal, The
- Lamport Court
- London Magazine, The
- Magma
- Matchbox
- Matter
- Modern Poetry in Translation
- Monkey Kettle
- Moodswing
- Neon Highway
- New Welsh Review
- North, The
- Oasis
- Obsessed with pipework
- Orbis
- Oxford Poetry
- Painted, spoken
- Paper, The
- Pen Pusher Magazine
- Poetry Cornwall
- Poetry London
- Poetry London (1951)
- Poetry Nation
- Poetry Review, The
- Poetry Salzburg Review
- Poetry Scotland
- Poetry Wales
- Private Tutor
- Purple Patch
- Quarto
- Rain Dog
- Reach Poetry
- Review, The
- Rialto, The
- Second Aeon
- Seventh Quarry, The
- Shearsman
- Smiths Knoll
- Smoke
- South
- Staple
- Strange Faeces
- Tabla Book of New Verse, The
- Thumbscrew
- Tolling Elves
- Ugly Tree, The
- Weyfarers
- Wolf, The
- Yellow Crane, The