She answers the phone politely
All her files are aligned
With matching labels.
She clocks in and she clocks out,
She follows the code of conduct,
Presides over the safety meetings
Respects the company policies
Which she types and distributes
Personally.
Her agreements are clear and
Non-negotiable.

But…

She envies those with an earring
The rebels who know how
To taunt the system
Who won’t jump through
Other people’s hoops
Because life is too short

So…

If you look between
The perfect pages of a contract
You might
Find there a poem, here a story
Not at all related to what
The boss pays her for.

Her mind rebelled, broke the walls,
And took the fort by force!
It wears a little earring,
And a fierce bandana,
And does exactly
What it wants to do,

It bursts in and overthrows
The pencil jars
The ink stamper
The manila folders
The lists of sales
And salesmen, and products
And contracts
It just cares about music and songs,

It tells her to log off the database,
Minimize the spreadsheet
Turn to the words and their music.

We know about Emily Dickinson,
But does anyone know
Where exactly Wallace Stevens
Wrote his poems?