Dear Carl
by Ginny Woods
On behalf of tiny snipers,
we are delighted to invite you
to join
an iterative process
of hematoid symposia
to be held at the hinges
of daily life.
We are aware that
you are short, round
and disabled
so keep your fiberwigs in check,
Avoid contact with drunkie,
Call off your hounds.
You may feel more comfortable
keeping a safe distance from the walls
And leaving dump bins alone.
A private dinner with the cohort will follow.
Feel free to attend the dinner but not the jazz,
the jazz but not the dinner.
dietary concerns will be addressed.
To the extent that you are able,
to the extent that we must,
let us spread-udder your mumps
across the table.
We ask only that you
kindly refrain —
And we trust that you will.
Printvites have been sent,
rest assured
And fee-payers have been charged.
We invite you, of course,
as our guest.
Understand that we don't sign off on scopes of work
or embolisms.
To your point —
You will certainly find the conversation stimulating.
Parking passes are available.
The time has now come.
Please wait quietly.
The cabinets are truly hideous.
The panel sessions are soon to begin.
Yours cordially,
Short Pump
To me parts of this read sort of like lines from a poetry generator program, which is not a bad thing. Some nicely shocking sequences and provocative word choices. Good work!
Thanks, Steve! I wrote this after drafting a bunch of letters for my boss in which he was inviting people to a big academic conference. The poem is inspired by those letters, which after several days writing them began to feel very automatically generated/mechanical - so your comparison to a poetry generator is quite apt. I want to read and write more poems that are inspired by the language of business and the culture of the workplace. For better or for worse, office work is a huge part of my life and I want to explore it through poetry and fiction. If anyone has suggested reading in this vein, please let me know.
Quite an interesting concept, Ginny!