Library
Bureaucracy, A Theory
Bureaucracy, A Theory
Man in white says I am the barbed-wire picket fence
And the cement wall behind the back door.
Man in white has a bark just as strong as his bite.
Man in white wakes up before the sun does and
Does not use an alarm to do so.
Man in white has a heart which beats in time
To the metronome of his file-shredder.
Man in white likes three plain wheat toasts for
Breakfast and a glass of lemon water for his stomach.
He says men in white do not believe in lubrication.
Man in white looks like a blood-thirsty shark with
One lazy eye and a blindfold for his ears.
He says I am nothing but a service dog,
An extra hand-tied to a leash tied to
You, deaf and dumb and dead and
You, who do not know the difference between
His blood and your blood they smell the same,
You, with the flesh of your palm grating on the rope
Grating your skin because
Man in white took boy scouts very seriously.
Man in white wears clothes one size too large
To fit a pocket too big to hold things which
Should not belong to him.
Man in white popped a button trying to fit
With all the extra weight he jingles around.
Man in white tells you to stop because he
Needs breathing space.
Man in white hovers over you like a
Balloon you can never let go of.
Man in white says I have read your letters,
Says I hear you, means I can see your
Tiny mouths blabbering but give me a minute
And see if I care, see how I forget you,
See how I trample over your puny figures
Oh! no, did I hurt you?
Man in white is a
Tow-truck cum excavator cum bulldozer.
Man in white knows struggle like the back
Of his red hands taped together
His fingers dripping green, dripping white
Dripping every colour on the palette
All men in white are expected to mix.
Man in white had to teach himself to
Stop emoting because of a straight posture
Concrete face open palms closed heart
Is how one gets through this life.
Man in white was forced to forget
That he was born human.
Man in white forgets that he is human.
