Brecken
The Factory
by Todd Sullivan
Deriving worlds from the ether
Do not well pay the bills
When roofs and walls are under threat
A job you must fulfill
Searching streams in digital realms
What can creatives bear
But stomach growls have grown so loud
A circle will fit a square
Dressing in matching suit and tie
Loafers pounding concrete
To a factory you arrive
The journey now complete
In the office, you greet the boss
“Please will you hire me?”
From out the desk, a contract shown,
“Take this and we will see.”
With bright red pen you sign your name
The boss then clears his throat,
“You’re not quite right, but soon will be.”
This promise he invoked
He dons a cap and surgical gown
Long gloves and a face mask
He leads you to a room of steel
“Training, that’s your first task.”
.
You see a table stretched out flat
Beside it, tray and tools
“Now stretch right out and and don’t you fret
The procedure’s in the rules.”
He gives a shot that numbs you out
And grabs a carving knife
He wildly cuts, and you cry out,
“Please just don’t take my life.”
Your leg removed, and he reveals
New limb of chrome and steel
“A modification,
Rest assured, it’s really no big deal.”
Metal attached, next chops your arm
While you take in the scene
As bit by bit, you are replaced
From flesh into machine
When all is done, repairs complete
From head to toe you’ve changed
Except inside, there is your brain
It could not be exchanged
“Now you will work, from dawn till dusk
A circle crammed in a square
You’ll fit right in, a perfect match
Now please, just don’t despair.”
And so you toil, without a rest
And if you slow your pace
The boss will jab a button there
To keep you in the race