STATE WORKERS
(2003 & 2005)

(for Craig Crowther)

Deep in the bowels of the State Capitol, I found your office
We met, stared:  ?what are YOU doing here??
Known quantities but in alien workspaces
Two polyps in the colon of government bureaucracy

Extended breaks spent extending a friendship
Long discussions of western swing, Temple magazine, and contrarian politics
Favors swapped, jokes, ideas, a reading, a wedding
Together we fought the fibrous effluent of mediocrity and mindless management

Our little cancer survived?

But suddenly, a cosmic colonoscope caught you
And left me in the shit all alone
An office email announced the opening
Your job description a blunt obituary 



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