Drinking more coffee than usual just so I can shit on the clock
I.
being angry at work is likely to lead
to being fired.
if I were into theorizing
about “emotional labor”
I’d say swallowing fury
while sitting silently still
for 8.5 hours 5 days per week
falls into that category.
but I can’t tweet this
so keep it between us.
II.
I think direct deposit should be replaced
with Venmo. my boss already tells me
I’m lucky for what I’m given
so they’re entitled to act like
paying me for working
under the current conditions
is a favor.
we all complain here
via skype instant messenger.
in between messages I worry
my body is wasting away before I have time
to love it fully.
III.
being spiteful is useful
if it keeps you alive
being spiteful is useful
if you can’t summon
the energy for anger
I think they hoard our anger.
why else are their offices so big?
their pockets so deep?
if not to keep it from us.
to ask, “how can I support you?”
from behind a closed door
IV.
I’m a non-union worker. it says so
on my employee profile.
(when did I get to make this choice?
where do I learn how to organize
quietly?)
everyone I work with is radicalized in misery—
all fighting the belief that respect is a luxury
not afforded in the budget.
we’re hired written off
unionized in crying at lunch and creeping
suicidal tendencies.
I’m rising up in little ways
that sometimes feel more pathetic
than revolutionary.
but isn’t getting out of bed every morning
the most radical action we can take?
V.
Bureaucratic evil is alienation
I go to work tired.
I leave work tired.
I think about enjoyment, maybe
reading a book?
I go to bed tired.
Google is firing organizers
asking for better working conditions.
now we all know our value.
VI.
Loving a corporation is an abomination—
loving your job is a psyop
automation won’t kill us because
the CEOs will pay
to watch us kill each other.
every day is like the purge
if you have enough money.
anything can be bought
if you have enough money.
any corporation you touch
can become a real boy
if you have enough money.
(and if you hire non-union workers and
if your social media manager
has enough rhetoric
to turn fans into bootlickers)
VII.
They don’t need to tell us
we’re worthless directly
if they make us attach our worth to our labor.
with that they burn us out and choke us
on the gas-lit fumes.
Alyssa Ciamp
Alyssa Ciamp is a scientist, writer, gamer, skater and cat mom. She's currently recovering from capitalism-induced depression by writing poems on the clock at work. Her writing has been featured in tenderness lit, Occulum, Riggwelter Press and others. Find her on twitter @bitchdruid and on instagram @a.ciamp. More of her work could be found @ https://neutralspaces.co/alyssa_ciamp/.