Tuesday, March 16, 2010

I

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.
Share:

3 comments:

  1. rocobley3:09 AM

    "I am the room that is a good employee and will never ever think of striking,"

    Well that's no good! Bloomin' scab. Support the BA strikers!

    http://www.unitetheunion.org/ba

    ReplyDelete
  2. 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.

    ReplyDelete
  3. rocobley7:17 AM

    Aaah 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:

    "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.

    ReplyDelete