... read and listen to what people think about the work they do.
Hyenas
I do not want to look for Order anymore
Searching and sifting where only fragments lie
Finding meaning in showcase publications and old committee minutes
And non-responses here, and small responses there
Knowing any Structures found are probably Accidental.
Managers come and go again, I do not want
To be always stressing their flux, or their permanence
I do not want to feel, because of them, hopeful or hopeless
But to keep my eye only on the far horizon
And let their short-term thinking stay at the distance
Of midnight hyenas that dog night hunters.
So come stand, back to back, all lovers of some Clear Purpose
Scream out your frustration; stave off the hyenas
Don’t pause to care if they’re howling or laughing
But feel that other back against yours and know
That someone, somewhere in the Disorder
Is, like you, screaming at the waste of it.
Anon
2015
Makes me think that ...
More often than one may think staff 'looking up' an organisation's hierarchy see past their managers and what they regard as over timid short sightedness. They thirst for bold decisions by the organisation's leaders and call on those around them to provide an echo to their frustration. This author gives voice to such feelings.
Narrator:
Lorraine Ansell
More people are writing and thinking about work-based poetry. Does this poem make you think of anything? Send your thoughts to editor@workinwords.net.
Send a poem you've written or one you like and we'll share it with other WorkInWords readers.
This poem is narrated by Lorraine Ansell a British female voice over artist who is graciously supporting WorkInWords.
If you would like to make a recording of this poem, click here to find out how.