I am the cat in the shadows that dance on the wall in the room in the house,
I am the cat in the shadows that dance on the wall who has just caught a mouse,
I am the shadows that dance on the wall to the tune of "Yellow Submarine,"
I am the shadows that dance on the wall during night and day and ev'rything between,
I am the wall in the room in the house that stands up to the air and the dust and paint,
I am the wall in the room in the house that will never ever faint,
I am the room in the house on the block that holds too much for my liking,
I am the room that is a good employee and will never ever think of striking,
I am the house on the block that stands alone and never glances,
I am the house on the block with catches, stands, and dances,
I am the house on the block and I? The house on the block--entrances.
"I am the room that is a good employee and will never ever think of striking,"
ReplyDeleteWell that's no good! Bloomin' scab. Support the BA strikers!
http://www.unitetheunion.org/ba
Rocobley, thanks for the comment; that line wasn't meant as a comment on strikes (I wrote the poem long before BA pilots went on strike). Rather, it was another way of saying that rooms are unmoving/unchanging.
ReplyDeleteAaah but... why is a worker who *never* goes on strike a *good* employee? It's an interesting question. Incidentally, you might like the following from WH Auden:
ReplyDelete"He worked in a factory and never got fired
But satisfied his employers, Fudge Motors Inc.
Yet he wasn't a scab or odd in his views,
For his Union reports that he paid his dues,"
From "The Unknown Citizen"
Full poem here:
http://theliterarylink.com/un.html
It's an attack on conformity by my favourite poet.