Management 666

** Management 666 *
My eyes are heavy as lead
I do not sweat I bleed
The stress sits upon my head
I am trying to escape a moment
Find nirvana in my self
Ignore the roar of external forces
Take care of myself
For my internal organs ache
The skin on my back feels flayed
As if a cat of nine tails had been applied
Though in truth the management do not do that
As they would not want their meetings
Disturbed by the heartfelt screaming
Of another one before the mast
Instead they apply the clamps steadily
Tightening by degrees
Until the worker is so crushed
Can no longer their demands resist
Too harsh and the worker flee
To gentle and no result
And so they meet in glass boxes
Looking out upon the floor
Survey those victims called employees
Who they can joyously manipulate
Decide the tortures to inflict
The methods to employ
Meeting requests with no agenda
The long and rambling speech
The top priority piece of work
For which all other work must cease
About which they do not care
The late nights and early starts
Unreal expectations of diligence and accuracy
The thousand little plots to make the workers angry
And then in managing the perception
You see how I handle this surly crew
Give the impression of great competence
A manager for this place and time
For if this manager was not there
How would the business survive
For this manager knows how to drive
The drones at manager's command
To complete the work and save the business
No matter how many employee bones grind
And so you work in your hutch
Surrounded by managerial carnivores
Is it little wonder the best flee
Leaving disorder in their wake
One day they say a champion will come
Bring the manager to account
I would not hold my breath
For champions tend to selfish wills
And a corporate card and free lunches
Might that champion's eagerness sate
Leaving us where we were
Before the coal face driven
Not directed but ordered
To do what does not make sense
Needing the wage they pay
To afford the half a quarter acre block
And the white picket fence
Who would have thought reaching your dreams
Required accepting such a Faustian fate.