"A touch of genius"

by Lianne Olive Hennig

Time to go, must hop in the car…
 A frenzy of activity in my haste to leave...
Remembered all? No, on the breakfast bar
My lunch, left behind, will make my stomach grieve.
Time wasted now, I burn with haste,
Too far to go, no time to waste.
Push the pedal hard, zooming down a country road,
Flying over bumps and holes, bouncing in my seat;
Blurred, I spy a grassy sward and
Fields of wheat.

Enter city traffic, try to slow down ~
Don’t want my licence done too brown.
It’s nearly three, don’t catch the light!
Just sped through it, feeling fright.
Leisure drivers block my way.
Will I be on time today?

I’m here, and now to get in and park my car
Somewhere, hopefully, not too far away from the gate.
No… up to the end ~ I’m late.
Lock the doors and grab my bag.
Let not my stiffened legs be lag!
Through the gate and ho it’s man ~
Try to catch me, if you can!
 
The clock, my card, my breath is hard;
Must find the foreman ‘fore I’m tarred.
Worksheet in hand, I flee to job;
Relieve from dayshift, just in time…
Feel relief myself, sublime.

Into work but not with zest;
Machine rating tries to test
The best I do when not my best.
My fingers, bruised from other days,
Will ever find unusual ways to
Take the moldings from the dies ~
Ingenuity applies.

Molten plastic burns my hand as I trim a sprew
 And set the product in a stand, so shape cools true.
Peel a label, press it on, stack six items in a box,
Seal and place it on a pallet ~
In my mind, the method locks.

Move with never ceasing motion
Even when I should be still,
Drunk with phantom zombie potion
As I work against my will.
Soon my mind negates the drudge, it drifts 
Through depth and height, taking
 Away from hours of time that yet
 Make up the night.

Emotions felt by me are true to
Thoughts that pass within;
A tearfilled eye will blink away
To bubble up a grin.
A second’s outward glance will show
A workmate within sight.
I wave and smile to let her feel
Her soul is burning bright.

My eyes turned out, instead of in,
I find it opportune to glance up at the ceiling as
My throat begins to croon.
An eyeful of the scenery will show
A light a-swinging, back and forth in rhythm,
Dancing to my singing.

A bird flies from a rafter.
A pipe shows ageing drips.
Gurgling inner laughter spills
Outward from my lips.
What life is yet divinely given
To the one who toils and slaves?
To what genius are we driven?
What inner beauty paves the way
Through boredom on the factory track?
Could one liken work to whoredom, 
For our minds will e’er hold back?

I zap back to my work again,
Realising I’ve lost count, and try to make
 My addled brain remember the amount.
Relieved to go to tea break, I drink the fresh air in,
And wonder at the scudding clouds with 
   Raised and jutting chin.
I’m sitting on an upturned crate 
 Amidst the grease and dirt.
     Hot chocolate fumes my nostrils and
  Makes me feel alert.
 My workmates chatter round me and I idly chatter back,
 But all too soon I’ll work again ~
 An automaton hack.

  My body knows the work is hard.
It wants to stop and rest.
 I’ve nearly made the halfway mark ~
 Keep pushing for my best.
 My dinner break went quickly.
My eyes begin to spin…
  My mind pretends I’m sickly ~
 I fight to not give in.

Two hours to go, and that should please,
  You’d think I’d work through like a breeze;
 But no, my mind has lost it’s fight,
 My face has lost it’s life.
 The last two hours of the night
 Are locked upon my knife.
  What different ways to trim a sprew?
 How cleanly can I cut?
These novelties will passage through
  My automaton rut.

 My toilet break has gone, although
 I sat, and sat, and sat…
 But the work shift must go on, so
  I redon my thinking hat.
  I’m taken far away, through
   Nostalgic future dreams, while
   Up my nose, a smile will play,
   And from my eyes drift gleams.

   A glance to the clock ~
   Ten minutes to go…
 Waiting for nightshift to show.
 Don’t show excitement, do not cheer,
When nightworker does appear.
    Bide my time until she’ll take the
  Working over, in my wake.

 Speed away, put worksheet back;
 Leave behind my dreaming tack.
  My smile shows teeth as out I clock
  And turn ignition key in lock.
 Zooming through bright city streets and
 Darkened country roads;
  Shadow on shadow quietly greets, and
 Nought, to me, forebodes…
 Alone again, and peace within
 Makes me greet the night and
 Note the shapes of shadows that
Come and go, within my sight.

    Home again, not yet to sleep but
     To lie, just resting, 
   Thinking deep.