Unemployment

The line of the unemployed

wrapped back on itself

like an accordion pleat

and extended all the way across

a great hall

You could see the faces

of them, bluish and drawn

under the dim florescent

lighting

 

First in line were laid-off

bees

weeping with their wings

hanging down

dragging on the ground

 

Next came the bankers

on their knees

beaten and bruised

after being pummeled

by a crowd at the door

 

And scattered all around them

were little yellow and rust-colored

piles of iron will

along with shredded bundles

of abandoned nerves of steel

 

You only looked forward

No one could afford to look back

anymore, and you saw what

lay ahead

 

On either side of the line

were two tables

and you were given one

of three choices

 

Some walked straight into

the unending labyrinth of the

government. Or you turned

to the table on the right

into the waiting arms of the Army

 

Or you could drift to the left

into the Church

and we knew instantly

what that meant

 

But then I woke up

with a start

and realized it had all

been a bad dream

Only a dream

 

And happily stepped out the door

into the street

where I waited at the curb

for the flow of blood

to let up