Sonnet Substantially Like the Words of F Rodriguez One Position Ahead of Me on the Unemployment Line
It happens to me all the time–business
Goes up and down but I'm the yo-yo spun
Into the high speed trick called sleeping
Such as I am fast standing in this line now.
Maybe I am also a top; they too sleep
While standing, tightly twirling in place.
I wish I could step out and listen for
The sort of music that I must make.
But this is where the state celebrates its sport.
From cushioned chairs the agents turn your ample
Time against you through a box of lines.
Your string is both your leash and lash.
The faster you spin, the stiller you look.
There's something to learn in that, but what?
Agüeros, Jack. "Sonnet Substantially Like the Words of F Rodriguez One Position Ahead of Me on the Unemployment Line". Correspondence Between the Stonehaulers, Hanging Loose Press, 1991.
Derechos: Jack Agüeros; Hanging Loose Press