Meditation: Temporary Worker Temporarily Employed

He calls, abruptly asks for “the temp”Something was supposed to haveHappened— And since it had not —He isPut outTicked off(Time is money and all that)

He:The President, the Vice President, the CEO, the Director, the Manager  One of the ones in charge

she: a temporaryreceptionist or administrative assistant or executive assistant  one of the ones who can be asked to do  anything within (or without) reason

Time passes / Time expands / Time contracts / Time stands still

A “permanent” secretary relays the message to “the temp” usingHis words, conveys awareness of His obliviousness with her voice.And with the expression on her face, says silently: “Yes, I know”

  Time expands    Time passes

He doesn’t know my nameJust says “the temp”  After all  It’s efficient  Gets the point across(Time is money and all that)

After all  He knows and I know  I won’t be here for long

Here / NowHe doesn’t know my nameBecause  Next month or next week or tomorrow or one minute from now  I could be riding home on the ever uproarious bus and  Because I hear pre- recorded announcements  Below squealing machinery,  Because I hear, above the low vibrating  Commotion of the engine, chattering  Passengers — some talking to their  Devices — others to each other —  Because my ears are tuned to this everyday din  — I don’t hear the ringtone of my cellphone —  Later I listen to the voicemail:  . . . Today is your last day. The client requested that you not come back.  Someone from our office will pick up your things . . .

— I won’t be here for longIsn’t that what they say?

What’s in a name anyway?

Here / NowHe doesn’t know my nameBecause  Next week or next month or tomorrow or one minute from now  I could be summoned to an office and told: This is a bad fit . . .  Handed a tissue, asked to get my things . . .    And I will leave as quietly as possible    Eyes down, wary quick steps away

If a temp exits an office and no one is around to  Hear her, does she make a sound?

Here / NowHe doesn’t know my nameWhat’s in a name anyway?

“the temp” is what I am called“the temp” is what I am

Time contracts  Time expands

Of course,  She is as temporary as this  Paper on which she writes hurried notes,  Quotes, lyrics, dreams, half- poems, lists and/or  Dictation from the inside of her head  Describing the particular absurd  Absurdity of this particular moment

Of course,  Words she writes may be  Struck through, blacked out, obscured

Of course,  Words she writes may be  Lost, even to herself

Of course, the words she writes on this piece of paper mayNever be word processed, let alone typeset;Never be published in an online journal, let alone a book

Of course, the words she writes on this piece of paper may  End up “filed and forgotten” in an unmarked folder    Added to an accumulation of unmarked folders      Making clutter on a bed or a chair or a table— Or worst case scenario  — Concealed in chaos, hidden in    Scattered, fluttering piles of      Papers on the         Floor

There are so many different ways for words to disappear

Time passesTime stands still

NowIn her mindThe Temp!Is capitalized, appears in bold italic,Accessorized with an exclamation point

Now on this temporary assignment, at thisTemporary desk, the event of someone passing byRequires her to act, so she stage whispers withSarcastic cheeriness: Hi, it’s The Temp!

In fact she says it with some regularity — as an inside jokeAnd like all good jokes, repetition multiplies the hilarity

Hi, it’s The Temp!Four beats which she repeats— To entertainHi, it’s The Temp!Four beats which she repeats— To pass the time

Time stands still / Time contracts / Time expands / Time passes

What’s in a name?That which he calls “the temp”By any other nameHas had enough

He doesn’t know her...