corporate clone moan

 

Once again that time

has come to recall and record

the triumphs of

the year flying, flying by.

Once more I laboriously

grind out purple prose

about myself, embellish

mundane deeds with

ornate verbiage, agonize

over phrases, select words

with the cold cunning

of a mercenary.  Oh,

I would so prefer

to smile modestly and murmur

“I did my best” and leave

it at that -- but, no, no, no.

Corporate life will

not allow selfless values.

We must grasp, demand --

we must compete for every

dime or nod of approval.

With a disgusted

grinding in my belly and

a bitter taste on

my tongue, I send my verbose

list along.  I feel dirty.

Author's Note

The manager's yearly task of listing his deeds of the past year, shamelessly inflating them to superhuman status, deliberately using power words, is the most distasteful part of being a manager. I always felt like my accomplishments spoke for themselves, but the corporate hoedown only works one way: blow your own horn to compete like hyenas for that lousy 3%.

Reviews

[Abhishekizy]

Youe feelings are very obvious. Yes, I belong to the same creed too, and i can relate to your thoughts. About the write, I must appreciate the range of vocabulary, you have put on display, without going over-board. This piece is simple yet complicated in its machinery. Reading it was a time well spent.

[annie lee]

Thank you.

[K. Louis]

I like the emotion in that last line..politics-- can't live with it, can't live without it..unless you go into the wild..

[annie lee]

Thank you for your review.