somewhere in april
in the east bay
lake merrit sits
surrounded by concrete forest
belly-button-like
in this ragtag city’s middle

fourteen floors up
i gaze out barricaded windows
at its illusion of normalcy
while inside this monolith
that we are trapped in
busy-bee legal types
shackled to desk and cubicle
ignore the back and forth nonsense
of those representing each side
their only prayer
is that the clock strikes five
sooner than later

in expensive suits
adorning this year’s power tie
they negotiate in the language of legalese
playing a complicated doesey doe
pinnocle, bridge anyone?
we’ll be determining your fate
with our “negiotiations, mediations and representation”
(translate: $175 an hour)
and counting

for nine hours, we sat at the mouth
of acrid, stale conference table
where the point is
clearly
to wear you down
until you agree
to anything for escape
while they determine the fate
and monetary value
of your violation
your helplessness
your outrage
all of the things
that changed you
forever
reduced to spare change
in a matter of
nine hours