2010/08/17 Gales Of Laughter Poem by Margaret Alice

Peace in the early morning
open-plan office is destroyed
by the loud voice of Piet talking
incessantly, repeating inanities

He puts his brain in neutral and
lets his tongue idle, in true African
fashion at the loudest volume, joined
by a chorus of giggling colleagues

In gales of meaningless laughter while
my search for Dubrovnik’s dementors
sucking the life from its good citizens
is driving me nuts, I cannot find

The name of a company’s criminal CEO
the Internet treats me like public enemy
number one, refuses to reveal its secrets
- this is the right time to run away

Seek spiritual fuel to recharge depleted
mental batteries, make peace with my
incompetence when hunting for obscure
terms; I love speed and progress

Marvel at things changing rapidly, but now
I am stuck and not moving at all, the Internet’s
inscrutable face remains unresponsive under
my typing, questing fingers, best is

To take to my heels as the open-plan office
reveals my Achilles heel, an inability to stand
disagreeable noise, reverberating incessantly
in my head and heart…