- 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) [End Page 5]
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 [End Page 6]
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 [End Page 7]
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...