poem of the day 08.18.11

dead man’s locker

the dead man’s locker
has been open for weeks now

as per a memo from the head honchos

they’re the ones who wanted
the dead man’s locker open
and everything taken out

because it was time for us all to move on

but no one has come to claim his things
not a single friend or family member

so the dead man’s locker stays open
in the staff room

some days the door is open wider than others

people are probably looking inside

we are fascinated
and terrified of the dead

i know that i’ve looked inside
the dead man’s locker

he has rulers in there
packages of paper and pencils
a black jacket
three full plastic bags of books

there’s a 20 oz. bottle of coke
that the dead man will never drink

i’m curious as to which staff member will take it
because the dead man hasn’t been dead too long

or maybe a member of his family
will claim the drink

that is, if they ever show up

maybe a member of the administration
thirsty from hiking it down here
will open the locker, see the drink,
and claim it as theirs

then we’ll all sit down and discuss
why the dead man’s locker is still open

we’ll all talk about
how well we’re coping with this tragedy

the fine people in this organization
will see firsthand how well we’re all doing

and that the work flow hasn’t stopped
not even for a day.