“Taxi Court” by Lisa Badner

April 19, 2017Posted by

Lisa Badner

TAXI COURT

They call me judge.
Talk about hacks and specs,
seizures and blues.
It’s my first day, and it all eludes me.
A limo driver yells: it is conspiracy,
medallions and cops. He takes off his shoe—
… in my country this means I tell the truth,
he licks the bottom.
They read Taxi News
and look at their watches.
My decisions pile up
while I try passwords on the computer.
downandout123, neerdowell456.
Finally, ihatelaw789, gets me in.

I find everybody guilty.

—from Rattle #55, Spring 2017
Tribute to Civil Servants

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__________

Lisa Badner: “I have worked for the government for much of the last twenty years, since I graduated from law school. I decided on a whim to take a class at The Writers Studio years ago out of sheer boredom from one of these government jobs. I then transferred to another civil servant job, which was not unionized, and was promptly fired. This was the best thing that ever happened for my writing, and at around the same time I began studying with Phil Schultz in the master class. Now I work by day for the New York State government as a hearing officer (also known as Administrative Law Judge). The humor and irony in this strange bureaucratic world inspires me.” (twitter)

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