intertech

The hallways were longer
than you thought
when you started at Intertech
I could still see
you
even at the very
end
waving to me
to come here
and go away

Some people ran through the corridors
or took a skateboard
But others
seemed to be stuck
on the rusty nail
in the first foot
and never really
got out past the threshold

You thought it’d be simple
to walk past the nail
because other people had
by pretending
not to see the protrusion

But I saw it
and kept wondering
where it had come from

I tried calling facilities
to examine it
but you called ahead
and told them I was lying
to buy yourself time
to set
a
grenade
at the company
entrance

The security guard
stationed there
looked like me
except she was blind
in one eye
from a previous
explosion

But you only need one eye to
still see
and your brain adapts

So she took
the bomb you gave her
without thinking
because she was distracted
by me
fixated on that nail

It was a great job at Intertech, right?
It required no work at all really

But you also didn’t get a paycheck
or an employee badge
or a 401k

You just got a company watch
with imitation diamonds
set an hour too late
that
tipped me off
to your fuse